Sharingan and Byakugan
by Falcom
Summary: COMPLETED! THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT AND THE 23,000 HITS! No longer just a series of oneshots and drabbles, more of a weirdly laidout story. SasuHinaSasu
1. Accomplice

**A/N:** Welcome to my Sasuke and Hinata one-shot/drabble collection:)

**Warnings:** Probably some OOCness through out the whole story…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto-sama does.

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**Sharingan and Byakugan**

_---_

_Accomplice_

"Come on, Sasuke-kun! Before we're too late!"

5-year-old Uchiha Sasuke sighed as he followed the once-timid giggling girl in front of him. Ever since his mother had started inviting the Hyuuga girl over each day, she had become more open to him and his family which he felt all too well.

…as if their now intertwined fingers weren't enough proof of that in itself.

"I can walk on my own, you know!" Sasuke yanked his hand away from hers as a light blush stained his cheeks; not from the contact, but from the great many cooing spectators that littered the streets.

He _really_ hated to be called cute, especially from people he hardly knew.

"Where are we going anyway, Hinata-chan?" In response, he only got a little mischievous grin and a quick "you'll see" sent in his direction before his companion turned a corner into an alleyway. "We're not doing anything bad…are we?"

"Of course not!" Hinata chirped as she again grasped his hand in her soft ones. Before he had a chance to voice his doubts on _that_ matter, Hinata held up a finger against her lips telling him to be quiet. As she did that, she nodded her head in the direction of an elderly woman who was walking by with a shopping bag held loosely in her hands.

The two children watched the woman for a few seconds before Hinata rushed out, Sasuke's hand still wrapped in her own, and stopped next to the woman. With a light blush gracing her cheeks, Hinata softly cleared her throat and looked up at the woman. "Obaa-san…w-would you like some help?"

"Oh what a couple of adorable children!" The woman cooed down at Hinata and Sasuke as she nodded slightly. "I would love some help, dear ones!"

Hinata grinned slightly as she took the bag from the woman's hands and motioned for Sasuke to take one handle while she held the other. She noticed Sasuke sending her a look that clearly said "_this_ is what you dragged me here for?" and only smiled in response before whispering, "Sometimes showing kindness to someone you don't know can earn you kindness in return."

Sasuke only sent her a puzzled look before shrugging and looking forward again. She was right, he supposed. Not that he really knew what she had meant.

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**A/N:** So, how was it:) Read and review please!

The next one titled "Bookworm" should be out around Wednesday so keep yer eyes open!


	2. Bookworm

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto-sama does.

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**Sharingan and Byakugan**

_---_

_Bookworm_

Both of them loved to read. Even though they were only six years old, they already had an extensive knowledge of subjects people 10 years their senior wouldn't have known of; things shinobi and regular civilians alike would know.

They had a basic routine going; she would bring the stories of travels and overcoming hardships, he would bring the packed-full-of-action stories. Once in a while she'd bring something that pertained to each of their heritage, and he'd bring an oral story that he had heard from his brother or father. It didn't matter to them what they were reading, or how long it took to read. All that mattered to the two children was that they were together and nothing was in their way of spending time alone.

Reading truly was one of the few things they actually had in common after all.

---

Yes, it's shorter than the other, only 134 words. The next one should be about the same length…maybe a little bit longer. It's called "Contentment" and be on the look out for it sometime around Friday!

Read and review please, and tell me what you think!


	3. Contentment

**A/N:** Sorry for the like, week late update Xx; Much things were happening, like brother coming from across the country to visit, school starting…yep.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto-sama does.

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**Sharingan and Byakugan**

_---_

_Contentment_

She found it odd how she was able to be so at ease around the youngest Uchiha boy, but she couldn't act the same way around her very own family. She was only seven, sure, but she somehow knew that she felt…happier around Sasuke, even though she couldn't quite place what the feeling was. It was a mix between peace and happiness, yet at the same time embarrassment and flustered.

Precisely why she was unable to quite place what the feeling was.

Apparently she was being too quiet because her companion gently nudged her with his shoulder and just barely refrained from lightly tapping the back of her head. "Hinata-chan, you okay?"

Hinata glanced over at Sasuke's concerned gaze and allowed a teensy smile to crawl forth. "It's nothing, Sasuke-kun!" Hinata chirped happily as she quickly enveloped the boy in her arms. If someone from her family had passed, they probably would have fallen down in shock at the emotion that was splayed out clearly on Hinata's face and in her body language at that moment. "I'm just happy you're my friend!"

A light blush covered Sasuke's cheeks as he turned away from the girl who had yet to let go of his lithe form. "Hn."

Hinata's smile grew as she pulled away from Sasuke and rested her hands on her bent knees.

In Sasuke she found comfort, safety.

In Sasuke she found the ability to be content with things as they were, even if it were only for a fleeting moment.

-----

**A/N:** Expect the next one out…I don't know…on the weekend? That's just a guess…so don't hold me to it. :P

Another thing, the story becomes angst-y from here on out. As I don't know how old Sasuke was when his parents were killed, I just chose the age of 8. So going by this chapter when they were seven…that would mean that the result of the death is…dundundun…next chapter!

Read and review please!


	4. Depression

**A/N:** So…got out earlier than I expected :)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto-sama does.

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**Sharingan and Byakugan**

_---_

_Depression_

8-year-old Hinata wrung her hands together as an evident sign of nervousness. Her one and only true friend was seated in front of her, mud caked on his legs and small stains of blood adorned his clothing. His hair was unkempt; strands of the dark lochs reached in every direction it could. His eyes made the young girl shudder, and _that_ was why she had chosen to sit behind him rather than next to him.

She didn't know what to say, or even do. What could she, when her family was still alive his was not? She wanted to help, she truly did. But would he accept her comfort, her love, her sorrow? A part of her knew he wouldn't, and that's what held her back from wrapping her arms around him and crying into his shoulder.

--

Sasuke knew she sat behind him, but he didn't bother to acknowledge her presence. He was glad she knew him well enough to leave him alone, but he could easily tell that she wanted to do something to ease his sufferings. But that didn't matter. There was nothing she could do.

The continued silence unsettled him slightly as he felt Hinata's gaze flit to him and away again. With a resigned sigh, he turned slightly to face Hinata, his eyes – he hoped – softened somewhat. "Hinata-chan…"

Hinata's gaze quickly reached his and held it, although he could tell that she wanted to look away again. "H-hai…Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke's mind blanked as he tried to figure out just what he was going to say, but nothing came. So he settled for the slight shake of his head and returned his gaze to the gently flowing river in front of them.

She could do nothing to ease his sufferings, if all he wanted were his parents back.

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**A/N:** Short again…geez I wanna make 'em longerish…so I'll try that with the next one called "Endeavor". But I doubt it'll happen…::glances off to the side::

Read and review please!


	5. Endeavor

**A/N:** So…the next chapters'll have a angsty undertone but may be funny or something else…so yeh.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto-sama does.

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**Sharingan and Byakugan**

_---_

_Endeavor_

It felt like forever since he had last spoken to Hinata, even though only mere months have passed since his parents' death. After he had refused to say any more beyond her name that time by the river, they had gone their separate ways.

Now they sat in class at the academy, she some distance behind him. He would often find himself unable to pay attention to what Iruka-sensei was saying, not that it mattered much anyway, and instead his gaze would wander over to Hinata; which meant, of course, that he would have to turn slightly so she was actually _in_ his line of view. Sometimes he would get caught, other times he would not, but either way his gaze only lingered for a few seconds at most.

This particular time Hinata's gaze wasn't on him, but on someone a desk away from him. When his eyes followed her timid gaze, he couldn't help the quiet snort of disgust from coming out.

Uzumaki Naruto.

Her gaze was on _that_ dimwit.

It annoyed him greatly, he would have been a foot _not_ to admit it when it was so obvious, but there was nothing he could do. She liked Naruto, and not him.

A light blush unwillingly made its way to his cheeks as he ran his thoughts through his mind again. Had he just thought about wanting Hinata to like him, _like him_? No…he…he meant he wanted her friendship back, nothing more!

"Alright class, that's it for today. Remember, your first transformation test is tomorrow, so be prepared!"

Iruka's words startled Sasuke him out of his thoughts. Class was already over? He had been lost in thought for _that_ long?

As he began to shove his school items back into his bag, he noticed Hinata begin to rise and move towards the walkway near his desk. A lump caught in his throat as he tried to decide to whether just let her go past, or to stop her and try to reconcile the closeness they had shared before. His hands clenched his bag in nervousness as he began to slowly sidle his way towards Hinata, not noticing the group of girls that were steadily drawing near from behind.

Her eyes kept flitting to Naruto, which annoyed him still, but didn't let his determination waver.

Now, he could say about two things that could've happened at that moment.

One: he could have reached out to Hinata and have apologized and he could have walked her home before going to his dreary own.

Or two: she had actually been headed towards him in the first place.

…if he had said either, he pretty much would have been lying.

What had _really_ happened was just as Hinata was passing by, and just as he name started to slip through his lips, the group of girls that was gathering behind him had pounced.

And he was the prey.

Needless to say he ended up flat on the ground at Hinata's feet with several girls clinging to his back, a mildly annoyed expression on his face. When he glanced up, he saw Hinata with her mouth hanging open slightly just about ready to say something. Before she could, he quietly growled out, "Not. A. Word."

…he really needed to work on his friendship mending if he really wanted to get _any_ work on that subject done.

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**A/N:** The next like…four are already written, so expect them all to come out within the next four days!

**Read and review!**


	6. Fear

**A/N:** Thanks for all the reviews you guys:) ::huggles you all::

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto-sama does.

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**Sharingan and Byakugan**

_---_

_Fear_

In a way, she supposed that it was funny how their friendship had been so easily thrown into shambles. Those three years of memories so easily forgotten. But on the other hand, she found it disheartening. She missed Sasuke; more than she'd miss anyone else in all of her 8 years of life.

She sighed softly as she let her eyes wander over to Sasuke's form. He was slouched slightly with a mildly bored expression on his face. Well, from what she could tell he was bored. From there, her gaze wandered over to the blonde-haired boy that currently was asleep with his head resting in the crook of his arm. Her eyes softened slightly as a light tint of pink covered her cheeks.

She truly didn't know when it had happened, but she had grown a crush on the boy who was an outcast in society. She found him to be strong, mentally speaking, and he never allowed things or people to get in his way; even though she knew at times he felt like quitting and going somewhere quiet to be alone and cry.

He was brave…unlike herself.

Another sigh passed through her lips as her eyes slowly returned to Sasuke's form. If she was even half as brave as Naruto was, she would have gotten up and talked to Sasuke. She would have asked him to walk her home so she wouldn't have to go alone seeing as Neji never _truly_ walked with her. She would have asked him to go somewhere and play.

She would have asked him to be her friend again.

But no, she was too afraid to approach him. A small part of her knew the fear was ill-founded, but she couldn't help herself; the majority of her screamed to not go near him, that something bad would happen if she did.

If only she knew what ran through his head.

If she had, she would have known that he would have wanted for her to talk to him again.

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**A/N:** The next one might get out a little later today (it's 3:20 PM right now) but don't be expecting it.

**Read and review!**


	7. Gaucherie

**A/N:** So I was able to get it out tonight :) annnd...More fangirl appearances lol

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto-sama does.

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**Sharingan and Byakugan**

_---_

_Gaucherie_

"Sasuke-kun!"

Hinata heard the high pitched squeal mere seconds before she saw the large group of girls that was starting to crowd around the boy whose name they had uttered. The Hyuuga girl unconsciously held the book she had in her hands closer to her body as she neared the group. She had only wanted to pass by, but then a certain sentence stuck out from all the rest.

"Happy birthday Sasuke-kun!"

Hinata paused and turned only to see several brightly wrapped gifts being thrust at the poor boy that looked like he'd rather be dead than there. Before she could figure out what she was doing, she was slowly inching her way to the front of the group where Sasuke stood.

"S-Sasuke…san…"

Sasuke barely heard the stuttered whisper and immediately recognized who it was. No one else stuttered…and no one else called him –san.

For some reason, that simple truth stung.

"Hinata…san." Sasuke's voice was quiet, with only a slight hint of curiosity evident. It felt weird to _not_ call her –chan, but he had felt that it would have been…_improper_ to call her that. "What is it?"

"G-gomenasai…I didn't g-get you a p-present this year…o-or last year e-either…" Hinata lowered her eyes as she held her book in one hand and raised her other up to her lip. "I…I hope 'h-happy b-birthday' is g-good enough…"

Sasuke blinked in surprise as he stared at the girl in front of him, all else falling away and disappearing. "It's…fine." He replied slowly as he, for some reason unknown to him, became nervous. "I prefer it this way."

Hinata flinched nervously as she took a hesitant step back. "A-a-alright t-then. I…I'll s-see y-you l-later."

Sasuke's eyes lowered in slight regret as he heard her quickly scurry off. His words had come out a little harsher than he had intended…but they had already been spoken and she was already gone. He couldn't turn back time and take them back after all.

If he could, he would bring his parents back instead.

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**A/N:** Seven down, nineteen left to go! The next…two-maybe-three will be out tomorrow, so be on the lookout!

**Read and review!**


	8. Heartfelt

**A/N:** My, they're just coming out, aren't they? XD

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto-sama does.

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**Sharingan and Byakugan**

_---_

_Heartfelt_

5 Years

It's been five years since she had met Sasuke.

Five years since she had kidnapped him to go around town to aid the elderly.

Five years since she had established he would be her 'special person'.

4 Years

It's been four years since they started reading together on his doorstep, down by the river, over in her yard.

3 Years

It's been three years since she started to notice that Sasuke's older brother and his father started to become hostile towards one another.

Three years since she decided to keep it a secret, since she didn't want him to know that she noticed his slowly crumbling family.

2 Years

It's been two years since his parents died.

Two years since she became afraid to talk to him.

Two years since she realized she cared about his family like they had been her own.

1 Year

It's been one year since she had last talked to him.

One year since she told him 'happy birthday'.

One year since he had snapped at her.

One year since their friendship crumbled fully.

Yet even now, he still was her special person.

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**A/N:** Doing something like this just kinda fit right here to me…so yeah. :)

**Read and review!**


	9. Inclination

**A/N:** ::sighs:: soooo sorry for the really late update…but my flash drives that held all of my story info was stolen and since I don't have a _personal_ computer I can't save it that way…flash drives were the only way to go. Meh. So…that means I'll just end up re-writing the next few chapters that I already had pre-written. Ahh well…either way it'll get out, ne?

On another note, I have an online storage box thingy now :)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto-sama does.

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**Sharingan and Byakugan**

_---_

_Inclination_

For the life of him he couldn't figure out _why_ he would always end up staring at the Hyuuga girl, even though they didn't share the same kind of bond that they had before. But for some reason his eyes would _un_intentionally seek her out over the waves of female heads that would always be constantly crowding his view.

He didn't like her. Really. He didn't.

He just had a…bad habit, that's all.

Mentally shaking his head of the thoughts that he _knew_ a self-proclaimed avenger should _not_ have, he roughly pushed the girls that were crowding him aside and sent a slight scowl in Hinata's direction. It was _her_ fault that he was constantly staring at her. She did something to him when he wasn't looking.

A part of his mind told him that he was being ridiculous and paranoid, but hey, he was eleven and no-way nuh-uh supposed to be looking at girls, _especially_ when he had a brother to kill.

…another part of his mind thought him crazy for even having a _really_ strange argument with himself that he knew he would end up losing.

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**A/N:** Yeah…so…totally not what I had originally. ::shifty eyes::

**Read and review!**


	10. Jovial

**A/N:** y'know…it's really frusterating (yes, I meant to spell that wrong) to have to re-write things that you already wrote X.x; Ahh well…this version is so much more amusing than the other one was xD

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto-sama does.

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**Sharingan and Byakugan**

_---_

_Jovial_

To put it simply, he hated his life.

Not the 'oh-my-gawd, life-sucks-let's-go-kill-myself' kind of hate, but the 'God, you-really-have-a-twisted-sense-of-humor' kind of hate.

He had been trying to ignore everyone in the classroom, Iruka especially since it would be _his_ fault for whoever was on his team, when that blonde-haired…nnnghhh…decided to place himself not-so-subtly in front of him. Like, five inches away from his face in front of him.

Now, normally he would have been very good at ignoring the boy – how else would he have been able to rein in his annoyance at him for being so dense about Hinata's feelings? – But this time was different than all the rest.

Cue the reason why he hated his life.

On his…_off_ days he'd normally end up daydreaming like your average boy of his age. Of killing his brother, of what he'd do _after_ killing said brother, about his first kiss…

Naruto wasn't a part of any of those plans. But somehow, he had…_imposed_ himself upon the last one.

Needless to say, he never truly expected for his first kiss to be with a guy. Naruto, of all guys.

…as if that hadn't been bad enough.

He just _had_ to look back and see Hinata's eyes widen with a look of shock on her face. It would have been _very_ amusing for him if she had decided to faint then, but she didn't. What she did instead probably ended up leaving him with a permanent twitch.

She laughed.

She was doing a very good job at hiding it, but he was Uchiha Sasuke and darn it he could spot things that others couldn't.

A light flush covered his cheeks as he finished gagging a few seconds before Naruto did.

Darn Hinata. Embarrassing him like that.

And all she had to do was laugh at him too.

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**A/N:** yay, another one…re-written! I'll try better to get them out…but with school – why oh why did I take AP courses?!?! – that might be a little easier said than done. Xx;

**Read and review!**


	11. Kindling

**A/N:** I know I don't say it much…but thanks for the reviews! I loves you all :)

And no one reviewed Inclination…makes me sad TT.TT

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto-sama does.

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**Sharingan and Byakugan**

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_Kindling_

Sasuke twitched in annoyance as Naruto continued on jabbering to Sakura, who wasn't even paying him any attention.

He _really_ hated his life. Even more so than before.

First, his parents die. Then, he loses his one friend. _Then_ he gets teamed up with a fangirl, a pervy/lazy teacher, and his old friend's _crush_.

Oh how he would have _loved_ to have killed them all. Or maybe himself. He couldn't quite figure out which one would have been better.

"Ugh! Naruto, leave me alone!" Sakura screeched in annoyance as she stomped off. Like a desperate little puppy, Naruto followed, whining all the way.

Sasuke sighed as he watched his two teammates wander off leaving him alone with their things. Kakashi hadn't arrived yet, go figure, so they still had time to kill.

"K-Kiba-kun! N-not so fast!"

Sasuke raised his head slightly and glanced off to the side where Kiba appeared from. Hinata and Shino appeared soon after.

"You! Where's Naruto?"

Sasuke raised his gaze, locked it with Kiba's, and tilted his head slightly. "You're an Inuzuka. Figure it out for yourself."

Before Kiba could retort, Hinata rested her hand on his shoulder and whispered, "H-he's right, Kiba-kun. E-even if you're not on a m-mission, you should use y-your abilities."

"_Fine_." Kiba grumbled as he sniffed the air lightly, Akamaru doing the same thing. His eyes quickly darted in the direction Naruto and Sakura had gone to. "That way."

Kiba quickly followed the scent, Shino following close behind. Hinata stayed behind with Sasuke, her eyes straying to the ground.

"You're not following them?"

"A-ano…no. I…I actually h-have to g-go back h-home…"

"Ah…"

Silence spanned between the two as the air suddenly thickened. Hinata shifted nervously as she fiddled with the item she held in her hands. Upon closer inspection Sasuke saw that she held a bento box.

"Who is that for?" Sasuke asked as he feigned indifference, although he truly was bothered by it.

"I-it's for N-N-Naruto-kun…" Hinata blushed lightly, bowed her head, and held it out in front of her. "C-could y-you give it to h-him…S-Sasuke-san?"

Sasuke angrily took the box from her and roughly set it down next to him. "Fine."

Hinata, who immediately noticed the sudden hostility that had been brought between them, stepped back. "I…I g-guess I'll b-be g-going n-now…S-S-Sasuke-san…"

Sasuke only snorted, turned his head away from her, only to glare down at the bento box. That simple box made him feel hatred, for a reason other than the death of his parents.

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**A/N:** meh…I don't like this one so much. ::shifty eyes::

But anyway…

**Read and review!**


	12. Leaving

**A/N:** Guess what?! Next chapter is exactly half way until this little…fic-thing is done:)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto-sama does.

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**Sharingan and Byakugan**

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_Leaving_

Naruto was down at his feet, in the perfect position to be killed.

Something tugged at the back of his mind, telling him to leave the boy alive. He knew not to over-analyze things, but he couldn't help but feel that _someone_ would never forgive him if he did go through with the murder. It felt like he _knew_ the someone, but just couldn't quite recall who it was.

Unbiddingly an image came to his mind, of back when he was but a five-year-old child. He was sitting on the steps to his house, a young purple-haired girl next to him. He had the feeling that he should have remembered her name, but pushed the thought to the side and focused on a different part of the image that was in his mind's eye. In the background stood Itachi, a blank expression on his face. His eyes were coal black, but quickly turning red.

The sharingan.

Then it hit him. If he were to kill Naruto, he would be just like his older brother.

He pulled back and turned away from Naruto's body. He would let him live, so he wouldn't end up like Itachi.

And in the back of his mind, he wouldn't kill Naruto for Hinata, the girl he couldn't even fully remember.

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**A/N:** so…now Sasuke's gone! Yay XD

**Read and review!**


	13. Memory

**A/N:** yay! Half-way 'til the end!

This chapter's dedicated to kenshinlover2002 for wanting more Hinata but not knowing that she was supposed to actually have 13 chapters for her. As is the same for Sasuke. ::sweatdrops:: it just didn't happen that way X.x; I'm tryin' tho'…but Sasuke definitely is going to end up having more. x.x;

For you weird-o's who think too much about things, there could be a _squinty_ NejiHina here. But that's squinty and'll only be there if you're…weird. O.o; And think too much. ::grinz::

**!!!Read the note at the bottom for updating info!!!**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto-sama does.

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**Sharingan and Byakugan**

_---_

_Memory_

Hinata took in a shuddering breath as she held up a hand in front of her. Neji breathed a sigh as he deactivated his byakugan and let his body relax.

Their training had been harsher than normal, although it was Hinata's 13th birthday. Or…maybe it was _because_ it had been her birthday. Hinata couldn't really tell. Either way, it was definitely tough love.

"Hinata-sama, are you alright?" Neji settled himself down by Hinata and slowly pushed the hair that had broken loose out of his eyes.

"I'm a-alright, nii-san." Hinata replied with a slight smile that she sent in her cousin's direction. A little under a year ago she had picked up lessons from him, at first if only to distract herself from the loss of Naruto. She understood fully that he had left to get stronger, but she couldn't help the feeling of fear that would go through her.

Someone else had left to get stronger as well, albeit in a different manner.

Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes as she quickly tried to wipe them away before Neji could see. But she was too slow.

"Hinata-sama, what's wrong?" Worry flashed through Neji's eyes as he quickly gave her a once-over to check for any injuries. When he saw none, and that she didn't truly seem to be in any kind of pain he could have caused, an awkward but sympathetic smile graced his lips. "He'll return, Hinata-sama. You just have to practice patience."

"H-hai…" A small blush crept onto Hinata's face as she glanced away from her cousin. "A…arigato nii-san, for trying to make me feel better."

"Iie. You don't have to thank me." Neji lightly waved his hand and stood. "I'm off to take a shower. We'll continue this tomorrow, Hinata-sama."

"O-okay." Hinata watched him leave for a few seconds as she ran what Neji had said through her head.

She did want Naruto back soon…but was he the only one?

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**A/N:** Alright so, this is kinda how I work. At times I'll update up to _three_ a day, other times I won't even update at all. I have a really…_in_flexible schedule that…to put it simply…pisses me off. So sometimes when I can't update, I'll update more the next time I can. I try to write at least four or five ahead of what's being posted, so I _know_ that I can get it out. Right now I have…mmm…two maybe three others that are already written and waiting to be typed then posted.

So as to not freak you readers out, I've set it up for myself to try and update _two_ per day every other day, weekends included. So…going by that…this story should be done within…mmm…like, 24 days. Maybe. That's just an estimate, but don't hold me to it XD That two per day thing'll start on _Friday_ 'coz today I have court that I need to go to and I shouldn't actually be using the computer like, at all. ::shifty eyes::

AHHH oh yeah, every other Wednesday I have court, so I might not be updating those days either.

Questions? Comments?

**Read and review!**


	14. Nevermore

**A/N:** MWAHAHAHAHA I have a voice recorder :) Me plus voice recorder equals _evil_.

Anyway. Lol The second one that I'm supposed to have out after this one…I might not get out till tomorrow. I dunno. We'll just hafta see, ne?

And HA! This one's kinda from Kabuto POV instead of Sasuke _or_ Hinata XD

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto-sama does.

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**Sharingan and Byakugan**

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_Nevermore_

"Don't over-do it, Sasuke. Orochimaru-sama still has to teach you something when he returns."

"…whatever."

Kabuto sighed in mild annoyance as he left the boy to his own devices, AKA training.

After a certain day not too long ago, Kabuto had seen the sudden jump in training that Sasuke had taken. At first he thought it had been the anniversary of his parents' death or even the boy's birthday, but neither seemed to have been right. So, he had left it alone thinking it wasn't important. But every-so-often it would rear its head and bother him once more, leading him back to Sasuke's room. And unconsciously he would think about what it was, without knowing he was closer than he originally thought.

Because in the end, it had been someone's birthday; someone who Sasuke knew before, but couldn't quite remember. Someone he had grown up with, someone he had grown to care for.

Someone named Hyuuga Hinata, who had turned 13 mere days ago.

Yet none of this Kabuto knew, leaving him to believe that it was "just a Sasuke thing".

-----

**A/N:** uhmm…okay so I have some news :) I'm sorta starting on my next fic (which is also a SasuHina so that's kinda why I'm telling you all here…) so if you want to know the summary or whatever, just check my profile. :)

**Read and review!**


	15. Overjoyed

**A/N:** So we're at what…15? 11 more:)

Thanks for all the reviews! You guys rockerz my sockerz::Grinz::

Ick. More HinaNaruHina xD It's needed…'coz you can't have a Hinataxanybody without _some_ sort of HinaNaruHina in it. Xx;

And in response to some people:

Melodramatic Writer: I love NejiHina:) I actually have an ItaHina fic thought up…but I probably won't be writing it for a while. ::Sweatdrops::

Daydream14: I actually have no idea if there'll be romance :P There might be…but I'm not really sure ::hides::

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto-sama does.

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**Sharingan and Byakugan**

**---**

_Overjoyed_

Naruto was back.

She couldn't believe it.

Hinata attempted to slow her fast beating heart as she heard Kiba and Naruto's voices drift on over to her.

"Was that…Hinata?"

Hinata fought the urge to run as Naruto appeared beside her with a curious expression on his face. A blush found its way to her cheeks as she nervously wrung her hands behind her back. "W-welcome b-back, Naruto-kun."

"It is Hinata!" Naruto grinned victoriously as he hugged her in his happiness.

Before Hinata could do anything beyond blushing harder, she heard Shino speak up with a, "You recognized Hinata the first time, too."

As Naruto stomped away to re-confront Shino, a small smile graced Hinata's lips Naruto was back, and he didn't seem to have changed at all. She was happy, that she couldn't deny.

But she also couldn't deny the dull ache in her heart that said she wanted someone else back as well.

---

**A/N:** …I'm starting to think that I can't write anything _long_ anymore XD

**Read and review!**


	16. Patience

**A/N:** so sad…but from here on out this story goes AU-like XD Still Naruto world…but different events. So yeh.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto-sama does.

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**Sharingan and Byakugan**

**---**

_Patience_

It was weird, he supposed. He had imagined for the fight with Orochimaru to have been longer, certainly not as easy as it had been. That's not to say that it had been entirely _too_ easy, because it _hadn't_ been, it just had been…easier than expected.

Sasuke sighed softly as he deactivated his sharingan and slid silently to the ground. The instant Orochimaru had died, Kabuto had left leaving him to be the only one there.

Or so he had originally thought.

A wry grin touched Sasuke's lips as his eyes slid lazily over to the door that had been roughly thrown open. In the doorway stood his replacement; Team 7's new member.

"Sasuke-san, are you alright?"

Before he could do anything beyond grunt, Sai was roughly pushed to the side to reveal an angry Naruto and a worried Sakura. Just behind them stood Yamato; a peaceful look on his features.

"Yo, dobé. Long time no see."

"Sasuke-teme! That's all you have to say?!" Naruto's expression turned to one of absolute hatred as his eyes flickered red. "You just up and leave and that's all you have to say for yourself?!"

"Naruto! Calm down!" Sakura scolded vehemently as she lightly smacked Naruto upside the head. "This isn't the time or the place for that! What we need to do now is– Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke's vision swam as he swung dangerously. What Sakura had been about to say was lost to him as his mind shut off.

The last thing he saw was a flash of purple hair in his mind's eye before his face became _close_ friends with the ground.

-----

**A/N:** So…in the next chapter Sasuke's back in Konoha! It's in Hinata's POV-like thing…as is the next…few I believe.

**Read and review!**


	17. Quiescent

**A/N:** 30 reviews and _almost_ 4000 hits! You guys rock:)

I guess I'm going to be updating this once a day instead...Xx;

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto-sama does.

---

**Sharingan and Byakugan**

---

_Quiescent_

"Hinata-chan! You'll never believe it! Team Kakashi's back!"

Hinata turned to see an excited Kiba bound up to her, Akamaru barking happily beneath him. "W-what's so unbelievable about that, K-Kiba-kun?"

"They're coming through the front gate now. See it for yourself." Kiba winked mischievously as he sent Hinata a two-finger wave and disappeared.

Hinata stood there for a few seconds longer, the grocery bag held limply in her grasp. Somehow she _knew_ that _he_ would be there with Team Kakashi. That's why she didn't want to go. But, before she could truly make a conscious decision, her feet were already leading her towards the front gate.

As she neared her destination, a sudden chill ran down her back that caused her to slow down her pace a bit. Then she saw them. Naruto was bracing Sasuke on one side, Sai on the other. Sakura followed from the behind, two bands on her hands clearing stating that they had Sasuke under chakra binding. Yamato strode out in front, being sure to make sure that no one stood in their way as they walked. At a closer look, Naruto and Sai both had chakra binds leading to them as well.

A gasp unconsciously left her throat as she almost dropped her bag. Sasuke was being dragged, from what she could tell, but Naruto and Sai were fighting hard for him to get to walk on his own. His eyes were glazed over, and his skin held an unusual tint to it.

Immediately the medic part of her knew that he had been poisoned, but that it wasn't the fast-moving kind.

Just as she had been about to lower her eyes, Sasuke's own reached her's, nothing more than a little spark of recognition going through them before they glazed over again.

He had returned, but did she _whole-heartedly_ want him back?

If someone had truly asked her that, she wouldn't have known what to have said.

------

**A/N:** So…Sasuke's back officially. :)

**Read and review!**


	18. Rain

**A/N:** doodadoo…still debating whether this should be romance or not XD

And a longer one for all you reviewers:)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto-sama does.

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**Sharingan and Byakugan**

---

_Rain_

She didn't know why she was there. She didn't _belong_ there.

As if the strange looks from the prison guards didn't say that loud enough.

"Ano…Hyuuga-sama? What can I do for you?" One of the guards spoke up, the strange look from before replaced with one far more polite.

She truly hated it when people did that.

"A-ano…c-could I see S-Uchiha-san?" The request came out in a tiny voice as she shifted the package she held in her hands. "I-if I can't, then t-that's a-alright too."

"No-no, that's quite alright. If you'll follow me please." The prison guard held out a hand and motioned in the direction of a long hallway that had a steel door on the other end. Immediately she knew that chakra ran throughout the door without having to examine it for more than a few seconds.

With a silent nod of affirmation, Hinata followed the man down the hall; the only sound being that of shoes against concrete. When they reached the door, the guard paused and glanced at her over his shoulder. "I'll let you see him privately, but just so you know I'll be standing here by this door. When you go in, he'll be all the way on the other end so be sure to _not_ look at anyone else."

"H-hai."

The guard nodded once and deactivated the chakra locks on the door before opening it slowly. With a quick nod of her own, Hinata skittered through the door with her head down.

At first the walk was quiet, only the repetitive click of her sandals sounded in her ears. Then the creaking of beds, the shuffling of feet, a quiet cough here and there. Nervously Hinata sped up her pace until she saw a long purple ribbon-like object that she had seen Sasuke wearing just a few weeks prior when he had initially arrived. A sigh of relief slipped out before she could stop it. When she arrived in front of Sasuke's cell, dark and lifeless eyes found her own causing her breath to get caught in her throat.

"What do you want, Hyuuga?"

Hinata flinched slightly but didn't back away. Instead she took a hesitant step forward until she was within arm's length of the cell. Slowly she set the box she held just outside of the bars and stood before taking a step back.

"N-Naruto-kun and S-Sakura-chan w-wanted me to g-give that to you…f-for your b-birthday…" She fidgeted nervously before taking a sack out of her pocket and set it on top of Naruto and Sakura's gift. "T-that's from K-Kakashi-sensei. They're all out on a m-mission so…"

A few seconds passed in silence as Sasuke's eyes caught onto something else; something small that was hanging out of Hinata's pocket. Lazily motioning to it, Sasuke asked, "And that?"

Hinata's cheeks unconsciously turned red as she slowly slid the _something_ out of her pocket. She cradled it gently in her hands before hesitantly holding it out for Sasuke to take. "T-this is…f-from m-me."

Sasuke stared at Hinata's red face and the gift that she held in her hands. Seconds passed before he let out a low sigh. He slowly stood and went to the front of the cell and lightly grasped the gift in his hand; his fingers lightly brushing hers. An amused grin threatened to cover his lips as she quickly pulled her hands away from the contact as if she had been burned.

"W-well…I…I g-g-guess I'll b-b-be g-going." Hinata willed for her face to cool off, but all her wishing lead for it to only get hotter. Abruptly she bowed awkwardly and turned away to leave. A few steps away she heard Sasuke call out to her.

"Oi. Hyuuga!"

"H-hai…?"

Sasuke's eyes softened a little, but only one who had known him for years would have noticed. "Arigato."

"Y-you're welcome!" A genuine smile slipped into place as she continued on to the exit.

It was alright that he called her "Hyuuga" and that he couldn't get out of jail. He was back, and they had plenty of time to work up again.

-----

**A/N:** Next chapter Sasuke's on "village arrest" so more contact, ne?

**Read and review!**


	19. Stagnant

**A/N:** Chuu! I loves my reviewers:)

In the making of the last chapter, I've decided to give writing longer a try since I can't make a habit out of_ overly _short things lol

Daydream14, Team Kakashi was on a mission. :) And what the gift was…well…you'll find that out this chapter XD

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto-sama does.

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**Sharingan and Byakugan**

---

_Stagnant_

For the life of her, she couldn't figure out _why_ she went there the same time everyday. It wasn't like there was much there, just a simple pond and a few trees.

Well…okay so she _knew_ why she went there everyday, she just didn't want to admit it.

Slowly a blush crept onto Hinata's cheeks as she lowered her eyes. She shouldn't be there. She didn't belong there. If they noticed her–

"Ahh, Hinata-chan! Back again I see?"

…too late. She had already been spotted.

"A-ano…h-hai. I just…" She shuffled her feet ever-so-slightly as she hesitantly brought her gaze up to lock with the one who she was talking to. "I j-just t-thought that y-you t-two would l-like s-some…l-l-lunch."

"In the past few days, there couldn't be anything that I would want more." Along with the compliment, she received a wink which caused her blush to deepen.

"Baka. Stop being a pervert."

"Hai hai." The man grinned cheekily as he lazily motioned for Hinata to join them at the bank. "I just can't deny food from such a cute girl after all."

Hinata's face only furthered to heat up more as she hesitantly made her way to her two companions at that same time everyday. When she arrived at their side, a light twinkle from the corner of her eye caused a slight smile to creep onto her lips. So he _had_ chosen to wear it…

"He wears it all the time." Hinata's gaze quickly left the necklace and went to the oldest of the three. "He even wears it to bed."

"Pervert. I don't wear it to bed, and why are you even looking at me when I sleep anyway?"

"You're one of my cute little students, Sasuke! And as your current guardian, it's my job to make sure that you're still _there_!"

The smile on Hinata's face only grew into a grin as she watched Sasuke growl and tackle his guardian causing them both to end up in the water. The two emerged sputtering, Sasuke with an annoyed expression on, his guardian with something akin to amusement in his eye.

"So are you more comfortable, Hinata-chan?"

"Hai, I am, Kakashi-sensei." Hinata let out a soft laugh as Kakashi pushed Sasuke back down into the water which earned the man another angry growl from the teenage boy.

When Sasuke re-emerged from the water, he stared Kakashi in the eye and stated, "You've been acting weirder and weirder each day she's here. Sometimes I don't think you're even Kakashi anymore."

Kakashi merely grinned and clambered out of the water. He then sat down next to his jounin vest, which he had _somehow_ managed to have gotten off before Sasuke had ruthlessly tackled him, and took out his special orange book from one of the many pockets. Before resuming his reading, he sent Sasuke a look that clearly said that he thought Sasuke was crazy for such an insinuation.

"Bastard." Sasuke muttered as he too clambered out of the water, even though it was a little harder for him on a count of the chakra binds that circled his wrists and ankles.

A light tug pulled inside Hinata's heart as she tore her eyes away from the binds and rested them back on the bickering duo. She knew perfectly well why Kakashi was acting the way he was, and she was grateful to him for it.

If it hadn't been for Kakashi, Sasuke wouldn't have been the way he was right now.

If it hadn't been for Kakashi, Sasuke would have still been in the Konoha prison and not under his care.

If it hadn't been for Kakashi, she couldn't have been able to be around them like this.

If it hadn't been for Kakashi…Sasuke would still be brooding about his predicament and not having fun like a normal teenager would.

She knew well enough that she too had a part in it, each time she ran into the duo Kakashi would remind her of it, but at times it was hard to believe that she had helped because what she had did had been so minor, so trivial.

Who knew that the simple act of delivering gifts could have started the chain reaction that it had?

-----

**A/N:** So this took place a couple of weeks after Sasuke's birthday, and he's now living with Kakashi. He's not quite free just yet, and he's not allowed to use his chakra for…anything really. Yet.

And if Kakashi's OOC on any level…well that's because he's trying to distract Sasuke of course!

**Read and review!**


	20. Trust

**A/N:** Hey, guess what? This story's over in exactly 6 chapters:) Ain't it grand?

And sorry sorry to those who wanted this to be a romance…but the way I have it laid out won't really allow that…much. Sorry again! You'll just have to get it out of the SasuHina fic that I'm going to write called _Stand in the Rain_.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto-sama does.

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**Sharingan and Byakugan**

---

_Trust_

The silence was mildly uncomfortable between the two teens. Their eldest companion, Kakashi, had left them there alone stating that the hokage had called him, even though Sasuke _knew_ the silver-haired jounin had just went to see her a couple of nights ago.

He had the sneaking suspicion that Kakashi had left him and…_the Hyuuga girl_ there alone so he could go eat some barbeque with Team Asuma.

"A-ano…w-would you l-like s-some, S-Sasuke-san?"

Sasuke's eyes wandered on over to the said Hyuuga girl and to the meticulously wrapped box in her hands. A few seconds passed by in silence as Sasuke stared at the box blankly before releasing a low sigh and taking the box from her grasp.

"Arigato." Sasuke mumbled as his fingers worked at slowly untying the knot. Out of the corner of his eye he watched as Hinata ran her fingers along the chakra marks that adorned her wrists before glancing at him nervously. When his eyes caught hers, a slightly startled gasp slipped through her lips as she lowered her eyes and scooted a little farther away from him.

He couldn't help the mildly amused grin from covering his lips as he purposely scooted closer to the girl which caused her to scoot away again. "You don't trust me, do you?"

"W-what m-m-makes y-you s-say t-that?" Hinata nervously traced the marks on her wrist again as she glanced off to the side towards the water.

"Your stuttering had increased, you won't get closer than five feet away from me, and you keep doing _that_." Sasuke carelessly motioned towards Hinata's fingers which froze over the marks as she was again about to trace them. "Those are the chakra-controlling marks that Kakashi handed over to you, are they not?"

"H…hai." Hinata admitted reluctantly as a light blush covered her cheeks from being caught. Yeah, she didn't exactly trust Sasuke to be alone with her, but…that's because he was an ex-missing-nin! No matter who he was, such a background, all other things aside, would make her nervous!

Sasuke snorted softly as he took his eyes away from the girl. "You do know that regardless of where Kakashi is, he still has control of my chakra?"

Hinata nodded hesitantly as she brought her finger to just below her mouth and lightly bit down on it. It just felt _safer_ for her to have _some_ control over him while alone, couldn't he see that?

A strange look entered Sasuke's eyes as another low sigh slipped out. In a quiet voice, Sasuke spoke to the wind, "You really don't trust me anymore…"

-----

**A/N:** Awww…totally not as amusing as the last chapter. ::glances away::

On another note, with the next chapter will come the prologue to _Stand in the Rain_! To know what it's about, take a trip to my profile and look at the first upcoming story!

**Read and review!**


	21. Unnatural

**A/N:** Darn...a day late XD

So responses to some reviews!

Daydream14: Kakashi suspects it, yeah. :)

Prettypinkpeacock: uhm…well with like, 5 chapters left, I think I'll just leave it to one a day updates ::sweatdrops:: I'm tryin' with the length, but I highly doubt they'll get much longer. Wari x.x;

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto-sama does.

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**Sharingan and Byakugan**

---

_Unnatural_

"Oiii! Sasuke-teme! Come here!"

The call reached Hinata's ears as she turned around in her seat at Ichiraku Ramen. Immediately when her eyes landed on Sasuke's form, which was surrounded by Naruto on one side and Sakura on the other, her eyes dropped in shame. Sasuke had just been released from Kakashi's binds, a little over a year after he first came into the jounin's care, under the compromise that he would _only_ be allowed to seek out Itachi again _after_ five years have passed. She knew he had reluctantly agreed to the conditions and was still living with Kakashi; for what, she and most others didn't really know. If they were closer, she would have certainly asked him…

"Hey, Hinata-chan! I didn't know you were here!" Naruto grinned as if he had just discovered the most amazing thing ever and ushered Sakura and Sasuke into the small ramen stand. Immediately plopping down into the seat next to her he added, "I hope you don't mind the company!"

"N-no, I…it's alright, Naruto-kun." Hinata glanced up, locked her eyes with Naruto's for a few seconds, and then lowered her eyes again. On her other side she heard the scrap of one of the stools being pulled back and the light squelch of the seat being sat on. A simple glance told her that it was Sasuke who had sat down next to her.

Was it his purpose in life to torture her ever since he realized that she no longer trusted him?

"You're staring."

Hinata blinked in surprise as she heard the soft murmur from Sasuke as he lazily rested his cheek in the palm of his hand, his eyes fixated on her form. Quickly she averted her eyes and mumbled back, "N-no I'm n-not…"

"Deny it all you want. You were still staring." Sasuke smirked as a light blush crept onto Hinata's cheeks. He was glad that Naruto and Sakura were in their own little world – how did _that_ happen, anyway? – at the time, so he could easily talk to Hinata.

"W-why are you d-doing this, S-Sasuke-san?" Hinata whispered in defeat as she reluctantly moved her eyes back to Sasuke's form. "I…I m-mean, you…I…y-you said it y-yourself; I d-don't trust y-you anymore. S-so why…?"

Sasuke sighed softly as he stood and pushed in the stool after sitting down only five minutes before. When Naruto looked over at him questioningly he shrugged and said, "I forgot Kakashi invited me to dinner with Team Asuma. I'll see you later." He sent a last meaning full look at Hinata before turning, nodding at Sakura, and leaving the stand.

"What was that all about?" Naruto sent Hinata a curious look before shrugging and returning his attention back to the conversation he was having with Sakura.

Hinata, on the other hand, continued to stare out into the streets in the direction Sasuke had gone, a sad look entering her eyes.

--

Sasuke shoved his hands deep into the pockets of the black baggy pants that he was wearing and kept his gaze on the ground. Okay, so he had lied. Kakashi was actually probably at home reading, waiting for him to return since he couldn't even boil a pot of water without leaving it neglected. Instead of heading in the direction of his now-permanent residence, Sasuke slowly headed in the direction of his old home and the memories that resided there.

It had been years since he had last been there; he never truly had a desire to ever go back there…until now.

What had triggered the wanting to go to his old home, he didn't know. Maybe it had been there all along and just needed a spark. Or maybe it was because of someone and how he used to hang out with her there…

"Tch." Sasuke snorted softly as he lightly kicked a small rock out of his way as the now-overgrown path to the Uchiha manor appeared in his view. What was wrong with him? Why was he trying so hard to get her to talk to him like they had before? Why was he so bothered by the fact that she no longer trusted him, even though he found that out a _year_ ago?

The emotions that swirled just below the surface worried him slightly. They were…unnatural. He didn't like them.

But no matter how much he fought them, they only grew stronger with each passing moment.

-----

**A/N:** Hmm…I actually like the ending to this one :) Amazing, ne? LOL

Check out _Stand in the Rain_! The prologue is now out!

**Read and review!**


	22. Veracious

**A/N:** You have been graced with a longer chapter than the norm XD Amazing, ain't it?

And you can blame the mood of this one on the ending of Grey's Anatomy season 3 lol

**Review Responses:**

Prettypinkpeacock: hehe nope. Still have W, X, Y, and Z left to do. ::winks::

Kenshinlover2002: She does remember him from before, it's just…she feels betrayed and stuff 'coz he left. A little more on that this and next chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto-sama does.

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**Sharingan and Byakugan**

---

_Veracious_

They're unused to the silence, to the companionship that only they could share. More uncomfortable than not, their's was one of familiarity, but all the same they didn't know each other.

They weren't children anymore; the child-like ideals that they had held so dear to their hearts, torn into shatters.

Would things have been different, if the Uchiha clan hadn't been massacred? Would they have been able to keep their child-like innocence for a few years longer, before being thrown unceremoniously into the adult world of death, fear, and destruction?

At 17, would they have been laughing with their friends, rather than standing in stifling, awkward silence?

--

"…Hey."

Hinata's eyes slowly rose from the water before her to lock onto the ones of her companion.

She had to admit that the last two years have changed Sasuke some; not a lot, just a bit. His physical appearance truly hadn't changed much; if someone had said he looked a _lot_ like this older brother because he had grown his hair out and he grew a few inches, she knew he would have killed them. Or at least tortured them until they _wished_ they were dead.

His attitude, on the other hand, changed even less than his appearance had.

He still came off as arrogant, cocky, conceited, and cold-hearted. But she had witnessed herself how Sasuke had changed, how he had been starting to revert back to the way he had been _before_ the massacre of his family. It had first only started in how he included himself more in menial conversations, then how he made more carefree jokes. The biggest change she had witnessed so far, however, was when she had seen him walking with Sakura, _her_ grocery bags in _his_ hands. When she had asked him about it later in a _very_ subtle manner – she had had trouble reining in her _extreme_ curiosity about just _what_ was going on – he had merely shrugged, said it looked like she had needed some help, and questioned in a mildly amused tone that if she was jealous.

Needless to say, at that point she had wished that she still didn't trust him…at all.

"Oi. Are you even listening to me?"

Hinata blinked once and smiled apologetically at the annoyed, taut figure of the boy-turned-young-man. "Gomen, Sasuke-san. I was just thinking. What were you saying?"

"No stutter, huh?" Sasuke smirked momentarily before his expression blanked again. "I asked about Naruto and if you still liked him."

"Oh…ano…I…" Unconsciously Hinata's cheeks reddened slightly as she nervously pressed her forefingers together; a habit that she _couldn't_ break. "I don't…think…so…"

"You don't think so?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow, disbelief barely shining through in his coal-colored eyes. "That means…?"

Hinata sighed in resignation as her cheeks heat up a few more degrees. "N-no, I don't."

"Someone else, huh?" Sasuke smirked as Hinata's cheeks only continued to heat up more. "Who?"

"W-why do you want to know?" Hinata couldn't hold Sasuke's eyes with her own so she returned them to the water.

Sasuke merely shrugged, made a mental note that nervousness brings stuttering back, tossed a pebble into the water, and changed the subject. "Did you want me back?"

"W-what?" Hinata's gaze shot to Sasuke in surprise. "W-what do you mean?"

"When I came back two years ago. Did you want me back?" When it looked like Hinata was thinking a little _too_ hard about what she was going to say instead of out-right saying _anything_, Sasuke sent her a scathing glare and added, "I'll know if you lie."

"I…I'm not…I'm not really s-sure." Hinata admitted reluctantly as she forced her gaze to look at the grass beneath her. "Y-you left…y-you never tried to…fix the rift between us a-and…I just…I k-knew that y-you needed your s-space after y-your parents' death, b-but I was there…I…I knew y-your parents, I w-was hurting too…but you o-only pushes me away by ignoring m-me all t-those years…"

"…So you didn't want me back." Sasuke sighed low as a slight pain pinched his heart. Immediately after feeling it, he scrunched his brow in a sign of confusion before quickly letting his eyes dart to Hinata's form. He couldn't…not after…

"I should leave." Sasuke quickly stood and turned away. Before he took more than one step he was already pausing and deciding to say, "At least you told me the truth."

She didn't have the time to respond before Sasuke walked briskly away.

But if he had bothered to stay, he would have noticed the few tears that were threatening to spill out of her eyes. He would have been able to have heard the last few words he would hear from her lips until over a year later. If he had bothered to stay…he would have understood why his heart pained him at the truth; or, more precisely, the half-truth.

"B-but…I did want you back…"

-----

**A/N:** Again…blame the angst-y-ness on Grey's Anatomy and the song that I'm listening to right now which is…Hero by Superchi[k! I love that song…so sad.

**Read and review!**


	23. Weary

**A/N:** NOTE FOR THOSE WHO ARE READING _Stand in the Rain_! The next chapter should be out by Friday! And hold me to it! Lol

This chapter I had originally had the ending different…but I decided to change it to make it lead to a…happier ending than was originally intended lol

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto-sama does.

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**Sharingan and Byakugan**

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_Weary_

"Hey, Hyuuga. We need to talk."

Hinata turned in surprise to see Sasuke standing behind her, a serious look in his eyes. Not knowing what else to do, Hinata nodded. "O-okay…"

Sasuke tilted his head in the direction of the clearing that was usually used for training and started off in that direction. The two walked on in silence, he a few steps in front of her. When they arrived, Sasuke paused in his steps but said nothing.

Nervously Hinata waited behind him, trying to figure out just what Sasuke wanted after a year of no correspondence. When a few more minutes passed on in silence, Hinata glanced down at her watch and sighed softly. "Sasuke-san, I need to go. Neji-nii-san's orientation into ANBU is soon and I'm supposed to be there."

"This isn't going to take long." Sasuke suddenly turned around to face Hinata, an expression she'd never seen on his face evident. "Five minutes. That's all I need."

"A-alright." A sudden chill ran down Hinata's spine as Sasuke took a few steps towards her, the strange look still in place. "W-wha–"

Hinata's sentence was cut off as Sasuke lightly grasped her shoulders and rested his forehead in the crook of her neck. A dark blush graced her cheeks as a light squeak slipped out of her partially parted lips. Before she could ask what he was doing, Sasuke began to speak.

"What is it about you that makes me act like this?" Sasuke sighed softly, the warm breath tickling her sensitive skin. "These feelings, this yearning…I want things to go back to how it was before. I'm tired of how things are right now."

Hinata's eyes widened in surprise as she heard the words that were coming out of Sasuke's mouth. If she hadn't _known_ it was Sasuke talking to her, she would definitely had thought that it was someone else doing a horrible impersonation of him. "Sasuke-san–"

"Wait. I'm not done." Sasuke glared half-heartedly at her from his position at her neck before continuing on. "I'll do _anything_ to get back to before. To get back your trust."

Hinata smiled softly as she rested her hands on Sasuke's shoulders and gently pushed him away. "D-demo…S-Sasuke…I do…already trust you…"

Sasuke looked back at her in mute surprise as his hands fell from her shoulders. _Did she just…?_

Suddenly a darker blush than before crept onto her cheeks as she quickly spun away. "I…I have to g-go."

As she walked away, a tiny wry grin reached Sasuke's lips.

Trust was the beginning of _anything_ after all.

--

**A/N:** Three left!

**Read and review!**


	24. X

**A/N:** 'X' was a little weird to do…but I think this is sufficient :)

Thanks to everyone for the reviews! And geez…don't you think a relationship that's taken…oh…about 12 years to actually _develop_ should change a person::Grinz::

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto-sama does.

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**Sharingan and Byakugan**

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_X_

"I'm the head of the Hyuuga clan now, Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke blinked in mind surprise as the new Hyuuga head practically launched herself at him; her formal meeting kimono still on. With an amused upturn of the corner of his mouth, Sasuke pushed her away from him and held her shoulder in his hands. "Maybe you should _change_ before throwing yourself all over me, no matter how irresistible I may be."

"S-Sasuke-kun!" Hinata blushed deeply as she quickly tore herself away from the built form of her lost-regained-maybe-eventually-something-more friend. "I-I'll be back then! W-wait right there!"

Sasuke snorted lightly as he heard the light pitter-patter of Hinata's socked feet skitter away. With a low sigh he seated himself down against the wall nearest to him, but was completely sure to not let his guard down.

You never knew when one of the Hyuugas might decide to _stalk_ him or something.

_Ahh, speak of the devil._ A smirk slowly slid into place as Sasuke closed his eyes, the almost inaudible steps of the Hyuuga male nearing. Only when they stopped did re-open them.

"Uchiha."

"Hyuuga."

Silently Neji took a seat next to him, his hands dangling between his bent knees. His pale eyes were focused on a point that Sasuke couldn't see, but that didn't matter. What he _really_ wanted to know was: _what was the Hyuuga doing sitting next to him_?

After a few more moments of silence, Sasuke couldn't hold it in any longer. "What?"

Neji's eyes slid over to Sasuke's form, but he didn't say anything. He merely stared, like he was assessing Sasuke for some, unbeknownst reason.

The hairs on the back of Sasuke's neck rose, but he couldn't figure out _why_.

"She didn't originally wish to have the position she's attained." The sentence came quickly and quietly as Neji's gaze once again locked onto the point that was, apparently, just out of Sasuke's view. "It makes me wonder what's changed."

"And I'm supposed to know?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow and resisted the urge to snap at the elder boy. No, he had to keep control, stay 'friendly'. It couldn't do to get on the…even _worse_ side of the Hyuuga since he _was_ Hinata's 'guardian' after all.

Neji merely shrugged as he momentarily allowed his eyes to rest on Sasuke's form. "She no longer likes Naruto, either."

Sasuke's back unconsciously stiffened, as he fought to keep his expression neutral. "And…?" _Damn._ What was _wrong_ with him? He didn't act like this; _especially_ not in front of a rival!

"Just stating a fact." Neji smirked to himself as if he withheld a grand secret that only he knew. Which, to some extent, could possibly be true. Sudden his eyes darted down the hallway before calmly standing. "She's returning. I'll be leaving you now, Uchiha."

"Hn. See you." Sasuke watched the Hyuuga male walk away then disappear down another hall before turning his head to look at the girl that was walking towards him. She now wore the normal clothes that she always wore which consisted of her overly-large jacket and baggy pants.

"Shall we go?"

Sasuke stared down at the young woman as Neji's words rang through his mind. _'She didn't originally wish to have the position she's attained. It makes me wonder what's changed.'_ A little smile touched Sasuke's lips as he lightly tapped Hinata's shoulders then nodding his head in the direction of the front of the building. "Let's get something to eat, in celebration of your achievement."

Hinata blinked once before nodding in agreement, a soft smile coming into place.

As they walked down the hallway, Hinata's eyes caught Neji's, who sent her a silent nod before heading off to the branch family part of the building. What did the nod mean? Somehow, she had a feeling that Sasuke had something to do with it.

-----

**A/N:** It makes me sad…only two left!

A quick note, who would like to see a NaruSaku (Friendship or couple) companion-fic to this? Like, what's going on between Sasuke and Hinata from Naruto and Sakura's POV? Just tell me in your review. :)

**Read and review!**


	25. Yearning

**A/N:** it's sad but…I wasn't actually trying to get this one out today ::Shifty eyes:: I've been having too much fun reading crack-pairing fics :)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto-sama does.

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**Sharingan and Byakugan**

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_Yearning_

"So…Sasuke-kun…you have a year to spend doing what you want before you can go fight Itachi. Are you going to keep training or…?"

Immediately Sasuke's back stiffened as he heard the implications of what _wasn't_ said. Lightly growling he responded with, "_Training_, of course."

But, she had caught on to his reaction and let out a soft laugh before poking him lightly in the shoulder. "Of course."

"Hn." Sasuke snorted in response as he sent her a half-hearted glare before spotting a bench. Nodding towards it, he guided his companion towards it with a not-so-gently hand on her back. Before she had time to protest, she was shoved unceremoniously onto the bench, which Sasuke joined her on immediately after.

"Sasuke-kun…what's the matter?"

The question registered his mind as he rested his elbows on his knees, entwined his fingers, and rested his chin on them. A few minutes passed in silence, which he was glad that she knew him well enough to leave him be. When he saw her eyes slide to him in worry, Sasuke sighed softly and began to speak. "So much time has passed…it amazes me that I only have a year left until I can finally enact revenge for my clan." He paused, seeming to be hesitant to speak further.

"But…?"

"But things have changed in the years gone by." He admitted quietly, as his eyes locked with hers. "Don't get me wrong, I'm still going to kill that bastard Itachi. My reasons for his death are what have changed; or at least they've…adopted another reason to them."

A smile tugged at her lips as she resisted the urge to glomp the boy. Instead she settled for resting her hand on his shoulder and squeezing slightly. "I'm sure you two will make good parents in the future, Sasuke-kun!"

"Par…?" Sasuke blinked in surprise as he sent Sakura an incredulous look. "Parents? Who?"

"You and Hinata-chan of course!" Sakura grinned mischievously as she poked him on the forehead, her sentence successfully bringing a light flush to his cheeks. "Don't bother to try and deny it, I've seen you two!"

Sasuke snorted as he _attempted_ to regain what little dignity he had been spared with. "We've done nothing."

"Well then, I've seen _you_." Sakura winked. "You're different around her; I've known you for eight years now, don't think I haven't noticed!"

"Whatever." Sasuke couldn't hold in the slight grin that Sakura had managed to pull out of him. Instead of allowing her to see it, he turned his head away and kept his gaze down the road. Immediately his back stiffened again as he resisted the urge to growl; a reaction that he hadn't quite gotten over, no matter how many times the male had sought him out.

"Well, I guess our time's up. I'll talk to you later, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura stood and stretched before waving at Sasuke. As she turned away to leave, Sasuke's eyes followed her departure before they were averted back to the intruder.

"You do realize that _she_ would have thought of something less than appropriate happening between you and Haruno if she had seen you just now, right?"

"She's not here, is she?" Sasuke smirked as he stood, his eyes trained on the Hyuuga that stood before him.

A small smile pulled at the corner of Neji's mouth as he motioned towards the woods with his hand. "Ready then?"

Sasuke smirked before lightly punching Neji's shoulder and heading on towards their 'personalized' training grounds. "Always."

-----

**A/N:** I kinda like this chapter. :) Dunno why. Lol

**Read and review!** **There's only one left after this!**


	26. Zephyr

**A/N:** Welcome to the grand finale of _Sharingan and Byakugan_! I must say, I actually truly enjoyed writing this last chapter…so I hope you all like it well enough!

And I _guess_ there could be considered some slight ItachixKisame-ness in here…

And yeah yeah, Itachi's kinda out of character…but years, going blind, and whatnot could change someone. At least, it does in this XD

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto-sama does.

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**Sharingan and Byakugan**

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_Zephyr_

It started out as a bright summer morning; shadows stretched far due to the rising sun.

Days like these made him happy to be living in Konoha.

He breathed in deep the crisp air of his home, glad that he had _finally_ left the harsh heat of Suna. He truly loved his job, just…he didn't like where he ended up most of the time.

He also tended to _really_ miss his family.

"Sasuke-kun! Over here!"

Sasuke smirked wryly as he lazily pushed a hand through his sandy black hair. _Speak of the devil, and he'll appear._

"Otou-san!"

Sasuke's eyes softened slightly as he took in the sight of his eight-year-old daughter. She looked so much like her mother…

"Shiori-chan! Remember your manners!"

Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes. She was _trying_ to get Shiori to act the way she should of her status in society, but…

Sakura sighed exasperatedly as a smile crept onto her lips. Running her hand through the young girl's dark hair, she couldn't help but tease the father. "It's your fault she's like this, Sasuke-kun! You're not putting any effort into molding her to be a proper Hyuuga _or_ Uchiha! At least Hinata-chan's _trying_!"

Sasuke neared his daughter and the woman who, at times, seemed like a surrogate mother. When he stood just feet away from them, a smirk fell into place. "She is, is she? Seems more like at times she's busy playing 'God' to the Hyuugas ever since her father died."

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura lightly hit him on the shoulder, a playful scowl in place. "She's your wife! You have no right to talk about her like that!"

Sasuke merely chuckled lightly and stared down into the eyes of his daughter. They were pale grey; neither white enough to be full Hyuuga, nor dark enough to be full Uchiha. They had yet to figure out which clan's doujutsu she had inherited, but it didn't matter in the end. She was perfect the way she was.

"Otou-san! Guess what? When I went playing in the blossoms over there," the girl pointed enthusiastically in the direction of a flower patch that was barely visible from their viewpoint, "a nice man and his scary-looking friend gave me this!" She held up a chain that had two _very_ familiar rings hanging off of it.

Sakura gasped in surprise as Sasuke hesitantly took the chain away form the young girl. He held it in one hand and used the other to roll the rings so the stones were facing him. They were cracked down the middle, but he would've had to have been blind to not recognize them.

"Hoshigaki Kisame…and Uchiha Itachi." Sasuke muttered the names quietly, almost to himself. When he saw his daughter look up at him in confusion, Sasuke knelt down to her level and rested a hand on her shoulder. "The man who wasn't scary-looking…what did he look like?"

"He had long hair, kinda like yours, and he had creases on his face, and he was wearing a long black cloak with a weird symbol on it."

Feeling tightness in the vicinity of his heart, Sasuke prompted the girl to continue on. "What did it look like?"

"It was a red cloud with a fan on it. Otou-san, what does it mean?"

Sakura blinked once and stared at Sasuke in surprise. "You haven't shown her?"

"No. We live at the Hyuuga household after all." Sasuke's gaze flitted to Sakura before returning to his daughter's curious form. Reaching up to his left shoulder, he directed a question at her. "Do you want to see something?"

When the girl nodded vigorously, Sasuke undid the tie that held a flap down. With nimble fingers, he slowly lifted the flap to reveal the Uchiha fan that had been hidden there. "Did the fan look like this one?"

Shiori squealed happily as she clapped her hands together. "Hai! It looked _exactly_ like that!"

Sasuke didn't bother to try and hide the small smile that pulled at the corner of his mouth. "That man is my brother; your uncle, Shiori." He stood then, his eyes seeking out the figures that he knew were still there. Quietly, almost in wonderment, he couldn't help but repeat the words that no longer head malice or hatred. "My brother…"

"_You're 21, and you're still as clumsy as you were when you were four."_

_Sasuke growled low as his brother's form came into view. "Itachi!"_

"_I'm not here to fight you, I assure you." Itachi informed smoothly, his eyes shut._

"_Yeah right." Sasuke snorted as Itachi's eyes opened. Even though he had sworn to hate him forever, what came into view shocked him down to the core. "Your eyes…"_

"_If you're going to question whether I am blind or not, I would have to say yes…and no." Itachi activated the Sharingan, which quickly began to flicker black before returning to its normal coal color. "As you can see, I am no longer capable of using the Sharingan, nor can I see all that well normally."_

_Sasuke's eyes narrowed in thought. If Itachi was blind, it would be _much_ easier to kill him, much easier for him to enact his revenge. But what was holding him back? Why couldn't he just…attack?_

"_You married recently, did you not?" Sasuke blinked at the abruptness of the question, and gave a silent nod which Itachi responded to with a soft chuckle. "I will see you again, Sasuke. But know this before I leave: sometimes finding the truest happiness is more satisfactory than getting one's revenge."_

_Just as Itachi quit speaking, Kisame stepped out from behind a tree, his head cocked slightly to the side. "Itachi-san? You done? We need to get going."_

"_Hai, Kisame. We leave." Itachi sent Sasuke a final nod, his pale, coal colored eyes locking onto Sasuke's before turning to face his partner who held out an arm for him to take. With a soft snort and a tiny smirk falling into place, Itachi nudged the arm away and walked through the forest; the sound of Kisame's soft laughs following him every step of the way._

"Who'da thought he'd actually _listen_ to that crap you told him, Itachi."

"Kisame."

"Yeah?"

Itachi remained silent for a few moments as he managed to make out the chakra forms of his younger brother's wife nearing the group that was situated up on the hill. When they turned to leave, Itachi held in a sigh and set blind eyes on his partner. "Shut up. We leave."

Kisame laughed softly as he held out an arm for Itachi to take as he had done nine years previously. The only difference between that situation and the current was that Itachi freely took Kisame's arm; if only to guide him away from the forest that he had only traversed once in the nine years he and his brother had last spoken. On that day eight years ago, he had been there to watch the goings on of the newest addition to his younger brother's family, and couldn't hold in the mocking smirk that was directed at himself.

Sometimes, younger brothers don't always heed what their elder sibling tells them.

-----

**A/N:** And thus it ends! It was fun while it lasted…but never fear! The companion fic to this – entitled _Orange Petals_ – will come…_some time_ in the near future! Don't be expecting it _too_ soon though; I still have to focus on _Stand in the Rain_!

**Read and review!**


	27. Life Once Sprung

**A/N:** Okay, so those who are reading Orange Petals would know that I have decided to add an insert story here, mainly because I had a sequel in mind and figured this would be one of the easiest ways to get that info out into the world. :) I think you'll get a grasp of where this little clip is taking place…and it'll span through (I hope) three parts.

Enjoy!

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**Sharingan and Byakugan**

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_Life Once Sprung, Twice Removed, Three Times Forgotten_

_Part One_

"That Sasuke-kun! Just where does he think he's going off to when his wife is going to give birth any day now?!"

"I-it's fine, Sakura-chan. He had to go on a mission that he wasn't allowed to ignore." Hinata smiled weakly at Sakura as she struggled to stand, her legs shaking very slightly under the strain. She had refused to give birth in a hospital, preferring to give birth in her own house; pleading that it would be more familiar, so therefore more comfortable.

Sakura, in her worried state, had volunteered her time to be the midwife, and had requested time off to spend it all at the Hyuuga household. "Right." She snorted softly in annoyance as she habitually held out her arm for Hinata to take. "What mission is possibly more important than being there for the birth of his first child?"

Hinata merely smiled again as she locked her arm atop Sakura's and laced their fingers together. "Tsunade-sama sent him on a mission to Suna as the relayer for the upcoming naming of our next hokage, after she steps down. He was sent with a letter that's requesting the kage kaze's presence to come celebrate with us."

"So Naruto's dream is finally coming true, huh?" The corner of Sakura's mouth tilted up slightly as they began walking out of Hinata's room. "I'm happy for him."

Hinata's eyes slid up slightly to look at Sakura's face in slight worry, before returning to the wooden floor before them. She wanted to ask how their relationship was going, and if Sakura knew whether or not Naruto was still in love with her. She wanted to know if either had found someone else, and if they had, who that someone else was. She wanted to know so many things, all of which she knew nothing of because she had been stuck in the house for the past couple of months, ever since she found out that–

"Hinata? Are you alright?"

Sakura's voice rang through her ears, effectively cutting of her train of thought. "I'm fine, Sakura-chan. I was just wondering…w-why didn't you already know that Tsunade-sama was stepping down soon and is appointing Naruto as the next hokage? I-I mean, don't you talk to Naruto anymore?"

"I knew shishou was stepping down and that Naruto would be appointed, but…" Sakura's smile slid off of her face as her expression slackened greatly. Wearily she sighed, and tightened her grip on Hinata's slightly smaller hand. "I haven't talked to Naruto since your wedding…he's been really busy with missions to assure our allied villages that the chances of another Akatsuki happening is unlikely. So he's been traveling a lot, and hasn't had much time to just sit and chit-chat."

"Oh…" It made sense, since Naruto had made it a habit to come over almost every day to train with Neji, Sasuke, and Sakura, and she hadn't seen him in quite a while. "I hope he'll be back for his naming…"

"Sakura chuckled softly, despite her temporary melancholy. "We can't have that. Hope he doesn't turn into another Kakashi-sensei."

Hinata chuckled softly, despite the feeling that she had invaded Sakura's privacy by asking about Naruto. Yes, another Kakashi in the 'family' _wouldn't_ be a good thing. "At least he arrived on time for the wedding…"

"Yeah, that's true." Sakura replied. "It kinda surprised me when Sasuke-kun straight out told Kakashi-sensei that he saw him as the closest thing to a father he's ever had, and wanted him there at the wedding to perform as one."

Hinata smiled to herself, and almost let out a sigh of relief when the corner they were to turn at appeared in view. They didn't have _too_ much farther to go to the kitchen, where she normally hadn't been allowed to go since the 'problem' – as she had dubbed it – had been discovered. Ever since then she had been forced to eat in her and Sasuke's shared room, and, although she would never say it aloud, was getting _quite_ sick of it. "I don't think that it was much of a surprise…they did spend a lot of time together before and after Sasuke came back…"

"For me who hardly saw them together it was a shock." Sakura sent Hinata a mock-annoyed look before spotting a certain someone walking their way. "Neji-kun! Hey! You're back from your mission already?"

"Sakura-san." Neji nodded curtly at her in acknowledgement, not noticing the smaller form of Hinata who was partially hidden by the corner. "Hai, it didn't take as long as we had originally thought it would." As what seemed to be an after-thought, Neji glanced behind Sakura and, upon immediately spotting Hinata, widened his eyes slightly. "Hinata-sama! You shouldn't be out of your room! It's too dangerous!"

"Oh just let the girl– Hinata! Are you alright?!"

Black spots entered her vision and her tongue became heavy. No matter how much she tried to assure Sakura that she was okay, no words would come out beyond insensible muttered jargon. Black then covered her vision, and she saw no more.

--

"Gaara-sama? A visitor from Konoha is here."

"Hai, Matsuri. Bring him in."

Matsuri motioned for Sasuke to follow her inside, which he did with a weird feeling crawling up and down his spine.

All was fine…

…so _what_ was wrong?

"Hey, it's the Uchiha boy!"

Sasuke's gaze slid lazily towards the one who had spoken, and had to take a moment to remember that his name was Kankurou. Standing next to him was Temari, who was reprimanding him for 'misconduct in a meeting situation.' Unconsciously a little smirk slipped onto place as he took a few steps farther into the room, paused momentarily when he heard the door shut softly behind him, then continued on to Gaara's desk. Silently he reached into the small brown satchel that hung at his side and took out the letter he had been in charge of carrying. As he set it on Gaara's desk, he muttered, "A letter from the hokage."

Gaara nodded wordlessly and took the letter. Slowly he undid the tie on the scroll, unwound it, and began to silently read. When he finished, he gently set the scroll back down on the table with a tiny, barely noticeable grin on his face. "Hai, we shall come."

"We can–!" Sasuke's eyes widened very slightly in surprise as he stumbled forward, his left hand tightly clutching the front of his shirt just in front of his heart. Waving off Temari's helping hand that appeared just as suddenly as the pain, he waited a few seconds before he lowered his hand to his side and stared at the floor in very confused surprise. Things no longer were 'fine'. Something was wrong; _very_ wrong.

"Uchiha-san? We have…a saying here in Suna, that I'm sure a great many have forgotten during the rough times we've had." Gaara paused a moment to consider his words before nodding to himself silently and continuing on. "When a loved one is in a dire situation, and if each person's heart remains true to the other, it is said that the pain is shared, no matter the distance."

Sasuke didn't bother to wonder at the absurdity that had just come out of the kage kaze's mouth as barely concealed worry clouded his vision. "Hinata…"

The name was said quietly, but Gaara sat close enough to him to be able to hear it. Wordlessly he nodded once in Temari and Kankurou's direction, which they responded back with a nod of their own and an exiting of the room. Gracefully Gaara stood and stepped around his desk to the side that Sasuke was on, and rested a hand on the young man's shoulder. "We can leave in ten minutes at most. If we hurry, we might be able to make it to Konoha before sun down tomorrow, assuming that no breaks are going to be taken."

Sasuke stared back at Gaara, dark determination set heavily within the depths of his gaze. Trying to reach Konoha in a little less than a whole day was suicide, but he was more than willing to take that chance if Hinata's life was at stake.

--

**A/N:** To be perfectly honest, this entire three part thing was actually going to just be one, but I figured that I'd just post 'em part by part 'coz it'd get too long. XD Three parts in itself might be pushing it; I _might_ have to make it four instead. We'll just have to see. :)

**Read and review!**


	28. Twice Removed

**A/N: **Yay part two, part two:)

Oh yah…anyone have a problem with Neji and Sakura 'together'? (totally notice the quotes xD) Well…::sticks tongue out:: too bad! XD

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**Sharingan and Byakugan**

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_Life Once Sprung, Twice Removed, Three Times Forgotten_

_Part Two_

"Her vitals are quite alarming, but she's still out of the very dangerous range, thank goodness. But we might want to have a C-section done to, at the very least, save the baby's life if it would come right down to it."

"Would she have a greater chance of survival, if she were to have the C-section done?"

"Not by much, but yes, her survival rate would be higher than if we let her give birth on her own, assuming she were to regain consciousness."

Neji nodded once as he pinched the bridge of his nose wearily. After Hinata had collapsed and Sakura could do nothing to revive her, they had had no choice but to bring the first-time mother to the hospital. From the moment she had been taken into the emergency ward to now, nearly an hour later when questions had to be answered, time had run by in a whirl, losing him in it constantly and repeatedly.

"Hyuuga-san? Is the father available?"

Neji mentally shook himself of his worrying thoughts of all the _wrongs_ that could happen during the birthing of his cousin's child, and steadied himself well enough to speak. "Iie, he was sent on a mission to Suna a couple of days ago, and isn't due back for a few more."

"Oh dear…even if she wouldn't be having a natural birthing it is always preferable for the father to be there with her…" the girl – he was _positive_ she wasn't more than 17 years old – got a very slight melancholy look in her eyes before writing something down on the clipboard she carried with her. "If I may ask…who _is_ the father?"

Neji paused a moment, then sighed quietly in resignation. "Uchiha Sasuke." The girl's gaze shot up to his in surprise, her hand still poised to write on the paper. "His name is Uchiha Sasuke."

"O-oh…so are they…?" The girl's eyes widened slightly at her forwardness and held the clipboard close to her body, a soft pink painting her cheeks. "G-gomen! I had no right to ask such a–"

"It's fine." Neji held up a hand to stop her embarrassing tirade of words and looked down at her in mild amusement. "They're married. She chose to keep the namesake of her clan, as Sasuke had."

"Gomen…I didn't mean to be so forward…" The blush on the girl's face darkened as she circled 'married' and wrote 'Uchiha Sasuke' on the appropriate line. Before she could ask the next question, a shout interrupted her, making the girl turn and take in a quick breath of surprise.

"Neji-kun! I just informed shishou of what happened to Hinata!" Sakura slowed her pace as she neared Neji and sent the nurse girl a small smile before continuing on. "She dispatched both a hawk messenger and a jounin, in case he had already started to come back."

A sudden look of apprehension covered Neji's face as he stared at Sakura, a completely serious _glare_ entering his gaze. "Who–"

"She sent Gai-sensei." A wry smile covered Sakura's lips as she rested her hand on Neji's shoulder, who jumped very slightly at the sudden contact. "I'm sure he'll bring your 'brother' back soon."

"…_that's_ what I'm worried about."

---

"Uchiha-san, are you alright?"

Sasuke lazily rounded his gaze on the light brown-haired girl, who was staring at him worriedly out of the corner of her eye. They had been traveling at max speed for the past hour, and nothing more than sand was visible. "I'm fine." He replied passively, although he felt anything _but_ fine. Normally max speed running for hours was no problem, but with worry mingled in, the run was really taking its toll on him already.

"We have about ten more hours until we reach the start of the fire country, if we keep up with this pace all the way." Temari informed them as their heads in unison unconsciously turned to watch a statue go by – or rather, them speeding by so fast that it _appeared_ that it moved on its own. In response to her statement, everyone nodded and returned eyes forward, silence returning to the small group of four.

Ten more hours until the fire country, 13 hours until home.

Time never was kind to beggars.

---

"You shouldn't be!" Sakura scolded the Hyuuga with a tiny smile in place. "He may be a little eccentric, but he's reliable!"

Neji merely grunted in response and shook Sakura's hand off his shoulder. Averting his attention away from the pink-haired girl, he refocused on the nurse girl who, for some _odd_ reason, was quite tense. "Anything else you need to know?"

The girl snapped out of her reverie and mentally shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Hai, I have a few more questions to ask." She nervously glanced at Sakura who wasn't trying to hide the rolling of her eyes before laying bright hazel eyes back on the young man before her. "Has anything drastic changed recently in Hinata-san's life? Like, has anyone recently moved in, moved out, left the village, died…that may have possibly caused her to temporarily neglect her own heath care due to worry or grief?"

Neji remained silent a few moments before responding. "One of her friends, Uzumaki Naruto, has left for a while and hasn't had time to come around much. Recently it's been confirmed that he'll be appointed as the next hokage at the naming in three days…if he makes it in time that is." His brow creased in thought as another thought hit him. "Her father died not too long ago…but for being the man's daughter and the Hyuuga head at the time, she didn't do much grieving so I don't think that could have possibly set her off to stop caring for herself."

"I see…and how long as she been the Hyuuga head?"

"Since her birthday two years ago."

"And she's 21 now, correct?"

"Hai."

The girl scribbled the possibilities and ages down before scanning the page, her pen poised to write. "It says here that Haruno-senpai moved in with you recently, and that's why she's taken leave. How long ago did this happen?"

Neji's gaze slid sideways towards Sakura, who had a look of nonchalant feigned ignorance on her face. "She's lived with us ever since it was known that Hinata-sama's problem could possibly put her and the baby's life at stake, around the time before the second trimester started."

The girl nodded once in understanding at she wrote "second trimester" on the paper. Wordlessly she flipped the chart over and read a bit before returning her attention to Neji. "About that problem…it says that Hinata-san has a weakened heart that could have possibly…failed…temporarily due to the growing baby and the organs having to readjust their position, which might have caused unneeded pressure to be applied to her heart. Which apparently happened, or she wouldn't be here right now."

Neji nodded silently as he unconsciously clenched his fists, slightly worried about just _what_ the girl had or might soon discover. He let out a thin breath as he felt Sakura's hand cover his and pump a small amount of chakra into him, so as to merely calm his nerves. Weakly he sent Sakura a forced smile before motioning for the girl to continue on with her train of thought.

"But what doesn't make sense is that when I had consulted the Hyuuga medic, no records of her having a weak heart existed. So her heart's weakening was due to an unnatural cause." The girl tilted her head to the side slightly as she looked at Neji with curious eyes. "But what could have possibly done that? The force needed to weaken _any_ organ to such an state would have to be great. The only thing I can think of would be a direct attack to the chakra flow, but what–"

"Shiori-chan."

Shiori blinked in surprise as she felt Sakura's hand on her shoulder from behind, and turned to face the girl who just moments before had been standing in front of her. "H-hai, Haruno-senpai?" Sakura didn't response and just nodded her head at Neji, to which Shiori responded back with a look of her own.

Neji looked oddly stricken, like it had been his–

"Oh!" Shiori's face heated up rapidly as her gaze shot to the ground. "I-I'm so sorry! I can't believe how insensitive I'm being today!"

"It's…fine." Neji grunted as he shook the feeling of guilt away. "You have to write it down, don't you? That it's _my_ fault that Hinata-sama could possibly die today?"

---

_10 Hours Later, Sasuke's Group_

"Hey…isn't that someone from Konoha?"

Sasuke lifted charcoal-colored eyes from looking at the ground below to follow the direction that Temari was pointing in. Up ahead, waiting while perched on a tree, was a green figure. Immediately two names entered his mind, but no reason as to why _either_ would be waiting there followed. As they neared said green figure, the man jumped down from his perch and stood near it, patiently waiting. When they came close enough so that they could stop, the man greeted them.

"Hello everyone! I've come far and wide to escort your return to Konoha, and to deliver some news of great importance!" Gai – honestly, it was getting a little hard to distinguish him from Lee, but the small amount of wrinkled gave him away – heartily announced as he grinned and sent them a two-finger peace sign. "Hinata-chan has been hospitalized, and our new hokage is missing! It would be best to go find the youthful spirit, but Hinata-chan must come first!" Gai turned abruptly and pointed in the general direction that Konoha was in before shouting, "Now, let's return with youthful speed and grace!"

Sasuke quickly made an inquiry before Gai could run off. "Why is Hinata hospitalized?"

"I don't know all the details, but she's going to have to get a C-section done. Now, let's be off!"

"Matte! Hinata-chan's going to have her baby?"

Sasuke furrowed his brow as he looked in the direction the question had come from, and had to fight to keep the smirk from slipping into place. "Well…the dobe's been found."

"Shut up, teme! I was coming back early, 'coz we _finished_ early!" Naruto glared at Sasuke's form before nodding at the group from Suna in acknowledgement. When his gaze landed on Gai, a large grin covered his features. "Let's go save Hinata-chan!"

--

**A/N:** Now then. A few words for the readers!

First: There's two more parts, of that I'm sure.

Second: Orange Petals will be updated sometime this week.

Third: This…however…won't be updated for a while. XD Why? 'Coz school, that's why. XP

I gotta 'worry' about school now that's it's near the end of the semester, and I still have to write a 5,000+ word researched argument paper on censorship of intelligence…that's due sometime next week. I think. XDD So yeah, I'll be focusing on that thing for now. I _should_ be updating more during the winter break, and _hopefully_ I'll have the next chapter of _Stand in the Rain_ out on Christmas Day as a present for you all. :) But we'll have to see.

**Read and review!**


	29. Three Times Forgotten

**A/N:** Here's part III for all of you to enjoy! Thank you all for the reviews:)

It's been what, two months since I last updated? XD That's okay tho'…since this one's a bit longer than the last one…even if it's filled _mostly_ with just meaningless conversation. XP

---

**Stand in the Rain**

---

_Three Times Forgotten_

-- One hour after talk with Shiori, nine before meeting with Gai –

"Here."

Neji blinked as a can was thrust into his face, before nodding at Sakura in thanks and taking the drink. Wordlessly he opened the can and took a sip before dangling the can between his legs.

Sakura sighed softly as she set her own drink on the floor and sent Neji a slightly worried look. "Neji-kun…I…"

"Gomen for the interruption, but I'm on a break and I…" Shiori shrugged in a slightly embarrassed manner as she held up a bento box. "Do either of you want some lunch?"

Sakura smiled tightly before sighing and nodding in agreement. "Any news?"

"Iie, nothing's changed." Shiori slowly opened the boxed lunch and set it gently on a stool she had dragged over. "At the very least we can be thankful that her condition hasn't worsened."

"Her condition hasn't gotten _better_ either." Neji sent Shiori a sharp look before being jabbed roughly in the side by Sakura's finger. His gaze shot to the pink-haired woman whom he laid narrowed eyes on.

"Neji-kun!" Sakura's eyes narrowed as well, locking dangerously on the boy's. "Stop being a jerk!"

"Iie, it's alright Haruno-senpai." Shiori smiled timidly as she separated the food in her bento box and set half in the lid. Wordlessly she handed the lid full of food to Sakura and began eating her own.

"No, it's not alright!" Sakura responded immediately with an accompanying heavy sigh. "He had _no_ reason to say that to you!"

"Demo…it's true, though. Hinata-san _hasn't_ gotten better either."

Silence enveloped the small hallway as all three awkwardly laid eyes on the tile floor. Their heads filled with heavy thoughts, each waited for the other to begin speaking. Surprisingly, it was Neji who broke the stifling quiet first.

"I'm sure you're wondering how 'it' happened."

"Eh?"

"You are, aren't you?" Neji locked eyes with Shiori, and refused to break contact with her. "Now Hinata-sama came about to having a weakened heart?"

"W-well…I know about the Hyuugas and their family's attack style, but I–" Shiori stopped and attempted to pry her gaze from Neji's, but found that she could not. "I don't _really_ need to know if it's something personal…"

"It happened during the chuunin exams, so everyone who was there already know about it." Neji lowered his gaze to the floor before him and clasped his hands together between his knees. "We were facing one another, using the Jyuuken to fight. She started to fall behind some…back then she was really pathetic." Neji paused, a very tiny upward tilt of the corner of his mouth becoming visible. "But she wouldn't give up and I got frustrated and attacked to hurt, not to win. To try and…I guess to stop the small transformation she was going through at the time. Of course, the jounins had to step in to keep me from killing her, then she was taken away."

"Hinata-chan forgave you though, didn't she?"

"…She did." Neji sighed low and glanced up at Sakura. "That doesn't mean the guilt has gone away."

Awkward silence permeated, before Shiori cleared her throat. "So…how did Hinata-san and Sasuke-san meet?"

A wry grin slipped into place on both Sakura and Neji's face, which immediately set Shiori on edge. Especially about the 'Neji grinning' part.

"They're known each other since they were kids. They used to hang out a lot…before Sasuke-kun's family died."

"I remember she used to sneak out to go to the Uchiha manor, which wasn't really approved of back before Hinata-sama came into power." Neji resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "But as Sakura-san said, they kind of…stopped hanging out when the Uchiha's clan got murdered by his older brother. I'd like to think that the Uchiha pushed her away and that's why they 'broke up'…but I also think that Hinata had a small part in it as well. She knew the Uchiha too well; she never put any effort into trying to reconciliate the relationship she had with him prior to that attack."

"But if she knew him so well as you claim, why couldn't she see that he _wanted_ her to talk to him? I mean, even _I _could see that, even though back then I would've rather _died_ than admit it!" Sakura sent Neji a curious look and blinked slowly.

"You know Hinata-sama, Sakura-san. Does she seem the type to talk to someone who shunned her for a while?" Neji sighed softly and sent Sakura a mildly amused look before his gaze hardened to its customary state again. "Then the Uchiha left, and Naruto left soon after. She had been broken a bit by that, even if she wouldn't say it I knew she missed them both, and had resorted to training to keep her mind busy. But then Naruto came back…soon after bringing the Uchiha back with him on a mission Team 7 went on."

"I remember that. Sasuke-kun had been poisoned. Naruto panicked a lot, but you won't hear it from him." Sakura laughed softly. "After Sasuke-kun came back, he had been put in jail. Me'n Naruto had Hinata give Sasuke-kun our presents, which was actually a funny request since we could've just gave it to him on our own.

But anyway. Sasuke-kun got released about a year after that, when he went to go live with Kaka-sensei. I'm not really sure what happened after that…but apparently Kaka-sensei had a hand in getting them talking…somehow. I'm still really unclear about that part."

"Then they got married, and this is where we're at now."

Shiori blinked at the many years that had been quickly crammed into a couple of minutes and allowed her mind to process what she had been told. So Hinata-san and Sasuke-san had had a somewhat rough relationship; going through friendship to a deep dip to awkward friendship to marriage.

After all that she had been told, she didn't know what to say.

"So…Shiori. Why did you want to become a doctor?"

"Etto…I became a doctor mainly because my dad's one." Shiori blushed faintly and lowered her gaze to the floor. "I used to always follow him on his trips to the hospital and sometimes I even helped him with some things here and there. I guess I just liked being able to do _something_ for people, since I'm not really useful as much more."

"You never went to the academy, right? I remember hearing something about that when you first came here."

"H-hai, I had no skill whatsoever in the ninja field, so my father never enrolled me there and instead sent me to a school that the colonists go to." Shiori remained silent a few moments before adding, "Although I would've liked to go to the academy, even if I wouldn't have been able to do anything there."

"Wait. Lee's not much better; all he can do is taijutsu. Are you saying you couldn't even do that?"

Shiori looked at Neji with sad eyes, and nodded slowly. "Hai, my body…it's a lot weaker than it should be. I'm not sure what happened, but my body can't take too much strain on it; even taijutsu is far more than I can handle."

Silence spread out among the three once again as the two ninjas digested what Shiori had told them. So it wasn't that she had _chosen_ to live the life of a civilian; it was that she _had_ to live the life of one, to no choice making of hers.

"If you could somehow become…_stronger_…would you consider going to the academy for the first time?" Sakura spoke softly, almost as if to herself and not to the one she had actually been directing the question at.

"Hai, I would."

Sakura looked up in slight surprise and a quickly blossoming pride at the strength and resolve that was in Shiori's voice. When she looked the girl in the eye, no traces of fear could be found. "Well then, I was wondering if you'd be interested in helping me. I've been wanting to work with bone structure and what an advanced medic-nin could possibly do with it, but I've never really found a suitable person to work with."

"I…are you sure?" Sakura nodded, a smile slowly growing on her face which Shiori responded to with a smile of her own. "I w–"

"Move aside!"

Shiori only had enough time to jump to the side, dragging her stool with her, before a group of four medics rushed by; a table being pushed between them. The white sheet that covered the body came up to just below the person's chin. Long strands of dark violet hair covered the face, immediately alerting Shiori to just _who_ it was that was lying there. "Hinata-san!"

One of the four medics stopped and signaled for the other three to keep moving. "Sakura-san, we need to operate _now_. It we don't, I don't know how long Hyuuga-san will have to live."

Sakura stiffened, immediately going into 'medic-mode'. "What went wrong? She should've been stable enough to have been able to have the surgery done in a few more hours."

"We're not entirely sure." The medic confessed. "Her vital signs just started going all over the place; we're doing all we can right now to ensure that she doesn't die before we can get the cesarean section done."

Sakura went quiet a few seconds before turning to Shiori. "Can you get shishou? She wanted to know when Hinata went into surgery so she could be the one to operate on her." When she got a nod in response, Sakura turned to Neji and said, "C'mon Neji-kun, you're coming with me to keep Hinata company."

--

Shiori watched for a few seconds as the trio rushed after the other medics before turning and swiftly heading in the direction she had been instructed to go in. Her shoes against the wooden floor was all that she could hear; aside from her beating heart. It was erratic; she couldn't have been able to control it even if she tried.

Before she knew it she stood in front of Tsunade's office, her hand poised to knock.

Hesitantly she knocked once, twice, thrice. When she waited a few more seconds and no response came, Shiori sighed softly, praying to herself that she _wouldn't_ get killed by walking in, and gently pushed the door open. "A-ano…Tsunade-sama? We need you to go…" Her sentence trailed off into silence as Tsunade came into view.

Sake bottles – empty, by the looks of them – littered the woman's desk; a small puddle forming on the table's surface below where the spouts of the bottles lay. A cursory glance around told her that Shizune was nowhere to be found, which was highly odd for Tsunade's right-hand woman.

Deciding that it would be far safer for her to _not_ attempt to wake the slumbering, more than likely drunk, woman, Shiori merely sighed again and stepped back into the hallway. '_Now_ what am I supposed to do…? Tsunade-sama's obviously not available and Shizune-senpai's not around as far as I can see…' Shiori stared at the ceiling in hopelessness and ran her hands through her soft brown hair. 'I don't want to let Sakura-senpai down…but there's nothing I can really do in this situation. I guess I'll just have to tell her that Tsunade-sama and Shizune-senpai aren't coming after all…'

Shiori couldn't hold in the wince that immediately came after that thought.

Reluctantly she made her way back to where they _hopefully_ had taken Hinata, and ran what she would say through her head. She knew that her senpai had a fiery temper, especially when it came to her friends, and wouldn't hesitate in verbally attacking her for failing her job. But that was just a risk she was going to have to take; getting verbally attacked was _far_ better than getting beaten by a drunken woman _any day_.

---

**A/N:** To ensure that the final part's going to be around the same length as all the others in this little arc thing, I've taken out the last little tid-bit that was going to be in here and decided to put it there instead. :)

I think I was experiencing a really _annoying_ case of writer's block towards the end-ish there…but I think I did alright with it, ne?

**Read and review!**


	30. Four's A Revolution

**A/N:** I know that this is _beyond _far later than I had said I'd get it out time and time again, but still, welcome to the grand finale of this story-arc-thing! It's _much_ longer than the last three, so I hope that you enjoy it! And _**be sure to read the note at the end of the story!**_

--

**Sharingan and Byakugan**

--

_Four's a Revolution_

_Last Time:_

_Deciding that it would be far safer for her to __not__ attempt to wake the slumbering, more than likely drunk, woman, Shiori merely sighed again and stepped back into the hallway. '__Now__ what am I supposed to do…? Tsunade-sama's obviously not available and Shizune-senpai's not around as far as I can see…' Shiori stared at the ceiling in hopelessness and ran her hands through her soft brown hair. 'I don't want to let Sakura-senpai down…but there's nothing I can really do in this situation. I guess I'll just have to tell her that Tsunade-sama and Shizune-senpai aren't coming after all…'_

_Shiori couldn't hold in the wince that immediately came after that thought._

_Reluctantly she made her way back to where they __hopefully__ had taken Hinata, and ran what she would say through her head. She knew that her senpai had a fiery temper, especially when it came to her friends, and wouldn't hesitate in verbally attacking her for failing her job. But that was just a risk she was going to have to take; getting verbally attacked was __far__ better than getting beaten by a drunken woman __any day__._

--

Shiori hesitated slightly before pulling open the doors to the emergency room that Hinata had been taken into. When Sakura's head shot up to acknowledge her presence, nervousness took over. "G-gomenasai, Haruno-senpai. T-Tsunade-sama's not…available, and I don't know where Shizune-senpai's at…"

Sakura grunted in response, her eyes narrowing. "Damn. We're going to have to do this ourselves, then."

"S-Haruno-senpai? Where's…the rest of the medics?" Shiori blinked as she only saw Sakura and one other medic in the room. Hadn't there been more just minutes ago…?

"Team Asuma came back from their mission and apparently ran into something pretty nasty. They're all up in the critical care unit."

Shiori nodded in understanding, knowing full well what kind of kids were on Team Asuma. "So…ano…how're we supposed to do this with only three people?"

Instead of responding to Shiori's question, Sakura motioned for the medic to come over to Hinata's body, and gestured towards the young woman's midsection. "I want you to monitor the baby's health during the ceserean section, I'll monitor Hinata's." Pausing for a moment, Sakura sighed then turned to face Shiori. "Suit up, girl."

Shiori blinked in surprise, before hesitantly heading towards the rack that held the medical jackets and grabbing one that fit her best. "Ano…if I may ask…for what?"

"You're going to do the surgery." At Shiori's confused and slightly stricken expression, Sakura added, "I'll be guiding and helping you along the way so you don't have anything to worry about."

--

"Finally!"

Sasuke nodded in agreement as the tall walls that surrounded Konoha came into view, although they didn't appear to be much more than giant dark slabs in the night. It was very late, he would venture to say even near midnight, and didn't care that his body protested against every move that he made; he was just glad to be home so he could check up on Hinata and make sure that she was okay, although quite a few hours passed by since he had first had the bad feeling.

"We can check in with the hokage later; right now we should go see how Hinata-san's doing."

Sasuke nodded, along with everyone else, as Temari finished speaking and continued on their way towards the gates, not bothering to slow down their extremely fast pace. Kotetsu and Izumo certainly would have a rude awakening if they were asleep at their post. 

A small grin slipped into place as the thought ran through his mind, more than 99 percent sure that the two jounin _were_ in fact dosing off since it was so late into the night that most _normal_ people would be fast asleep.

"A-ano…I'll stop by the guards so they know who we are and what we're doing passing through the gates like this, so they don't end up…you know…sending ANBU after us on a false alarm." A soft chuckle rippled through the group as Matsuri skidded to a stop at the front gates, waiting for a few moments for the others to continue on ahead before turning to the two jounin who were looking at her with wide, tired eyes. Suddenly very self-conscious of their stares, Matsuri ducked her head and said, "Ano…we're from Suna. The people in our group are Gaara-sama, Temari-san, Kankurou-san, Naruto-san, Uchiha-san, and…ano…" She smiled wryly, a small blush forming on her cheeks before she finished with, "Gomen, I don't know his name…but he's from here."

Kotetsu grinned at the young jounin before giving her a thumbs up and nudging for Izumo to check them in. "Gotcha. Hey, weren't you from the jounin exams not too long ago? I think I remember you."

"Ah…hai." Matsuri blinked in surprise at being recognized in a different village, before remembering that she had to hurry to catch up to the rest of the group. "Ano, I have to go now." She smiled at the two before nodding and continuing on her way towards the hospital where the rest of the group had gathered.

--

"You guys, slow down! I don't they'd appreciate us all barging into the hospital all at once!"

The dark brown haired receptionist blinked in surprise as the group of familiar and not-so-familiar ninja came bursting through the doors and parked themselves in front of her desk, all eyes intensely focused on her form. Nervously – how could she _not_ be nervous with several people _staring_ at her like that? – she tapped her pen against the table and said, "Yes…how can I help you?"

Sasuke stepped forward and motioned for the rest of the group to take a step back in hopes of _not_ freaking the woman out more than she already was. "Yeah. Could you tell us where Hyuuga Hinata's room is?"

"Just a sec." The woman smiled kindly at the group before reaching over for her chart. While chewing the end of her pen she quickly scanned the paper and nodded to herself. Looking up back at the group she pointed down the hall and said, "Hyuuga-san is in room 412, but I don't–"

"–think she can have any visitors yet." With a sigh and wry smile, the woman watched as the group quickly sped off in the direction she had pointed at, completely oblivious to what she had just said. All the same, they'd probably get kicked out anyway for all the noise they made. Unless of course it was Haruno-san that was on duty…

With a soft chuckle the woman shook her head slightly and looked at the ceiling in mock-exasperation at the young medi-nin. Really, just because she was Tsunade-sama's apprentice didn't mean that a whole _group_ of people should be allowed to visit the same person!

Down the hall a loud banging of a door being forced open and the calling of "Hey! No running or slamming things in the hallway!" was heard, much to the woman's chagrin.

--

Sakura glanced up in surprise, confusion clear in her eyes as she looked at each person who barged in, her gaze staying especially long on the Suna siblings, Matsuri, and Naruto. "What are you guys doing here? Weren't you…somewhere else?"

Her question remained unanswered as all eyes followed Sasuke's movements, up until he reached Hinata's side, occupying the spot that Shiori had relinquished to him. Silently they watched the usually guarded Uchiha gently cup Hinata's cheek in the palm of his hand and caress her pale skin with his thumb, his eyes softening with the motion.

Sakura blushed suddenly, surprised by the show of affection in front of everyone in the room. "Ano…how about we all head outside and talk about what happened?" Sakura motioned for the group to follow her out the room, her gaze held shakily on Sasuke's form. "We should probably give them some privacy."

The group nodded as one, too surprised by Sasuke's actions to retort in any way.

"Shiori-chan, you stay here with Sasuke-kun, okay?" Sakura smiled awkwardly at the girl before herding the group outside, slowly forcing Neji out of his seat on the way to the door with a "C'mon Neji-kun, you can help me out here" and a hand on the young man's shoulder.

Shiori simply nodded, unsure exactly about what Sakura wanted her to do, but wasn't about to _not_ do what her senpai told her to. Her gaze drifted to Sasuke's form when the group walked out and closed the door, concern floating in their depths. She hadn't really known Sasuke – or Hinata even, for that matter – and hadn't missed the reaction that Sakura had had towards Sasuke's actions. 

Apparently for someone like him, such display of affection was unexpected, and she guessed that it made sense from what she had heard of the young man from Sakura and Neji.

"What happened?"

Sasuke's words surprised Shiori out of her thoughts, momentarily silencing her before it registered in her head that Sasuke wanted her to respond. "Well…"

--

"When Hinata was in her second trimester, a little problem had been discovered about her weak heart and if her body could cope with the growing baby, and if she could have a proper, vaginal birth when the time came. At that time we really couldn't tell which way the scale would tip, so Shishou had suggested that I move in with the Hyuugas temporarily to keep a watch on her just in case anything went wrong during her last trimester. It had all been looking really good until just yesterday, when Hinata and I were headed to the kitchen to get something to eat and when we ran into Neji-kun in the hallway. Apparently the short walk had been too much for her body to take and she ended up collapsing right there. And that's when we took her to the hospital…" Sakura paused, sighed once, before continuing on.

--

"Umm…after that's when I met Neji-san and was assigned to ask him questions – standard procedure, you know? During the questioning was when I found out how Hinata-san got her weak heart." Shiori paused in her explanation to stare apologetically at the door, although Neji couldn't see her expression, then continued on a few seconds later. "Some time after that, when I was with Haruno-senpai and Neji-san for lunch, Hinata-san went into critical condition. Haruno-senpai sent me to go get Tsunade-sama and Shizune-senpai, but neither of them was available! Imagine my panic when I had to go back to face Haruno-senpai without either one! You know how she can get, don't you?" Sasuke managed the smallest of smiles in response, which prompted a smile of her own to appear. "But anyway. Then I had to go back and tell senpai…"

--

"I actually was _expecting_ for Shiori-chan to come back without Shishou, but that didn't change the fact that it was irritating since it was just me, her, and one other medic. I _still_ don't know what happened, but Team Asuma ended up taking the rest of the medics that were on duty; they must've been hit pretty hard, even for a group of genin on a lower C-rank mission. Anyway, as I said there was only us three. Since both the baby and Hinata had to be separately monitored for safety's sake, I had Shiori do the actual operation. She and a few other nurses are in the group that were learning to become surgeons, so I figured that anytime was as good as now to see what she learned so far, which of course making sure that nothing went wrong on the process. She actually did really well for a nurse-turn-surgeon student."

--

"I was so nervous when senpai told me to get dressed for the surgery and that I'd be doing it. She must've known that I was in the surgeon program, but at the time the only things that ran through my head was that I was going to screw up, that I'd cut something wrong, too deep…that I'd end up killing the baby or Hinata-san, or even both. But before I knew it, the surgery was done and Haruno-senpai was telling me to check on the baby with the medic while she focused on fixing Hinata-san right up again. That was a couple hours ago."

--

The group remained silent when the story ended, trying to take in the load of information that had been given to them. So much had happened in less than a day and the fast pace of things had left them far behind while their bodies moved on their own accordance; at least that's what it _felt_ like.

Temari sighed, the first to recover from the ongoing quiet. "Can we see the baby?"

Sakura nodded before indicating for the group to follow her, silently noting that the door to Hinata's room was slowly opening behind them. Sasuke probably had the same idea as they had, and also wanted to see the – his – baby.

Quietly the group followed Sakura down hallway after hallway, before the pink-haired medic stopped in front of a glass panel and pointed towards the crib in the farthest corner. "See the one with the bear on its blanket? That's her."

Silence, then a quiet "She's…beautiful…" from Matsuri, awe evident in her young voice. All else were quick to nod in agreement, too focused on the newborn child that was sound asleep to form any coherent verbal response.

--

Sasuke slowly walked up to the group, suddenly nervous about seeing his first child, although – he reminded himself again and again – there was nothing to fear from a newborn baby. Without having to make a sound, Sasuke watched as Temari spotted him and begun nudging people aside so he could walk up to the window, and did so when a walkway had been made through the group. He could feel the eyes of everyone on him, but that didn't slow down his pace as he stepped up to the glass and softly rested a hand upon its smooth surface.

Unconsciously his eyes softened as he took in the sight of his new daughter, her chest moving up and down with each breath as she slept on, unaware of the group that had formed outside "her" window. Quietly, so no one besides himself could hear, he muttered a few words to his daughter before he turned to face the group, not caring enough about his appearance to rid himself of the unguarded, caring look that he knew he had on his face.

--

_A Couple Hours Later…_

The first thing she noticed when she awoke was that just below her stomach _really_ hurt, and that she definitely wasn't in her room at the Hyuuga manor. Groggily Hinata blinked and attempted to sit up, before deciding against it due to the pain that shot through her abdomen with each movement. Unsure if anyone was in the room with her to answer, she muttered, "W-what happened?"

"You collapsed at the manor, Hinata. You're at the hospital right now."

Slowly she turned her head in the direction that the words came from, and took in the slightly blurry images of Sasuke (he was back in Konoha? How, and when did he get back?), Sakura, Neji, and a girl that she didn't know. In the silence after Sakura's words she could hear muffled voices beyond the door, but couldn't quite make out what they were saying. "W-why?"

"Your body couldn't take the strain of carrying the baby anymore, Hinata. You slipped into critical condition and had to have a ceserean section done to save you and your baby's lives."

Hinata remained silent as Sakura's words registered in her mind, before she winced and sighed softly. "W-where's my baby?"

"She's doing fine, Hinata. She's currently in the maternity ward, sleeping away."

A tiny smile appeared on Hinata's lips as she asked, "Can I…see her?"

Sakura nodded once and motioned for the girl that she didn't know to go fetch the baby. When the door closed behind the girl, Sakura sighed softly and allowed a small smile to appear on her face. "That girl…she's the one who saved yours and your baby's lives."

Hinata blinked in surprise and stared at the door in wonder. "She did a surgery at her age…? But…how?"

Sakura smiled to herself and quietly said, "She seems to have a stronger chakra system than her father lead her to believe." At Hinata's confused expression, Sakura shook her head and added, "I helped her through it. But for the most part she did the actual surgery."

"I see…" Hinata whispered as the door opened to reveal Shiori, the baby tucked in the bear-covered blanket and tucked softly into the crook of Shiori's arm. Gently Shiori set the baby in Hinata's outstretched arms and backed away to give the new mother and her baby some room. What she didn't expect, however, was to be addressed by the dark-haired young woman. "If I may ask, what's your name?"

Shiori blinked in surprise, before answering. "It's Shiori. Takahashiro Shiori."

"Shiori-chan…a very pretty name. Perfect for a beautiful girl." Hinata smiled down at her baby, the words leaving her lips in barely louder than a whisper.

Shiori blushed at the unexpected compliment, nodded once, and lowered her eyes in embarrassment.

Hinata's smile grew a little as she lowered her head until it was just above her baby's forehead, and whispered, "Yes…not just for one beautiful girl, but two…"

--

**A/N:** And that's the end of that! At about 2,900 words, it was _almost_ a 1,000 words longer than last chapter! :) Yay for length!

Okay, so. I need to address something here. Who's all still interested in a sequel to this that focuses on Shiori? Everyone else will still be in it from time to time, but it's mostly centered around the Hyuuga girl and what happens to her; what ends her up in the company of Itachi and Kisame and how she was going to get back home. It probably won't be _too_ long, but still. So…anyone interested? If so, it probably won't be coming out for a little while still, since I'm focusing on some other things I'm writing right now, like the next chapter for _Stand in the Rain_, which right now is a bit of a pain in the butt to write. XD But I'll manage.

Anyway. It's been fun!

**Read and review!**


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